Man out on bond in fatal Chiefs game hit-and-run arrested in Kansas highway shooting
A 19-year-old charged in a fatal hit-and-run outside Arrowhead Stadium last year has been arrested and accused of shooting at a vehicle with at least six passengers in Linn County, Kansas, earlier this month.
Thomas Weyer of Kansas City, Missouri, was arrested on eight felony charges Nov. 2, more than a year after he allegedly struck and killed Wichita native Steven Hickle outside Arrowhead Stadium during a Chiefs game.
At the time of his arrest in Linn County, he was out on bond facing one count of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in Jackson County.
The shooting was reported about 11:35 p.m. Nov. 1 on U.S. Highway 69 near Pleasanton, about 70 miles south of Kansas City, according to a statement from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
A caller told deputies they were southbound on the highway when their vehicle was hit by several bullets, leaving the car disabled. Several other passengers were inside.
The suspected shooter exited his vehicle, which contained one other occupant, and ran into Pleasanton on foot. Linn County deputies and Pleasanton officers began a search for the shooter and interviewed the occupants of both vehicles.
Just before 1:30 a.m., Weyer was arrested near a dollar store in Pleasanton, according to the sheriff’s office.
Weyer was charged with six counts of aggravated battery, one count of destroying evidence, and one count of criminal discharge of a firearm.
Three passengers in the car Weyer allegedly targeted were minors, according to documents filed in Linn County District Court.
A Gladstone woman, 23-year-old Madison Swanson, was also charged in the incident with three counts of child endangerment.
‘It’s like they don’t have a conscience’
The hit-and-run occurred as Steven and Laurie Hickle were walking back to their car after leaving a Chiefs game against the Buffalo Bills Oct. 10, 2021, according to documents filed in Jackson County District Court.
Laurie Hickle told police that as Steven Hickle stepped out into Blue Ridge Cutoff and was entering the middle turn lane, he was struck by a big blue truck traveling at high speed. Laurie Hickle told police a second vehicle, possibly an SUV, came behind the truck and hit him. As Steven Hickle was lying in the street, a third vehicle also ran him over.
Laurie Hickle said none of the vehicles stopped, and all fled southbound on Blue Ridge, according to the documents.
In an interview with The Star last year, Laurie Hickle expressed her frustration with the drivers involved.
“It’s like they don’t have a conscience,” Hickle said. “How can somebody hit and kill a man and not have a conscience about what they did?”
In November 2021, police received an anonymous tip from someone who overheard a conversation between a woman and her son “Tommy.”
The two were heard talking about how “Tommy” had “hit something,” panicked and fled, the tipster stated. His mother allegedly checked under his SUV with a blue light and discovered a large amount of blood.
Police later identified “Tommy” as Weyer.
Weyer later admitted to police in an interview that he had run over Steven Hickle, according to prosecutors. He was arrested in May and released on bond later that month.
Laurie Hickle described her husband as a loving family man.
“We had so much planned for the future,” she said.
Weyer’s bail for his Kansas charges has been set at $250,000. He is scheduled to appear in Linn County District Court on Dec. 13.
The Star’s Bill Lukitsch contributed to this report.
