YMCA answers post-accident cell phone complaints
Marketing director denies confiscation
The marketing director at the Southern Saratoga branch of the Capital District YMCA, Erin Breslin, says three camp counselors did not want children on a field to trip to call their parents after their bus went off the road because the counselors thought they could handle that communication better and because the counselors first wanted a chance to make sure the kids were alright.
The trip was bound for Cooperstown Thursday morning when the driver left the road in Milford and the bus tipped over. Breslin said Friday evening there was no indication of why the driver lost control. On Thursday, one parent of one of the girls on the trip said he was told by one YMCA employee the driver fell asleep and by another that the driver did not fall asleep.
One of the fourteen kids who were on the trip told CBS 6 News the counselors took her phone away from her to prevent her calling home. Another said the counselors simply exerted authority to stop her from calling home. According to Breslin no cell phones were taken and counselors only requested the kids not call home. "I don't think that's an unreasonable request," Breslin said. Breslin said it was more important for the kids to pay attention to the counselors but, pressed twice to be specific, Breslin could not say what it was that the kids needed to hear. Some of the children told CBS 6 News that after the bus tipped over they got out and sat on some grass and waited for a ride to the hospital. All but two of the kids were uninjured. Investigators said the two who were injured had minor injuries.
Breslin said in the future, the YMCA may try to find a way to let parents know sooner about such an accident. She said the YMCA used records of who was on the trip to find their parents' phone numbers. Asked whether any of the counselors asked any of the campers to call home and allow the counselors to talk to parents, Breslin suggested only that that is the type of thing the YMCA might discuss as it tries to improve the speed with which it contacts parents in such a situation. "Thirty seconds is too long," she said.
