Amesbury Easter Egg Drop Organizer Apologizes For 'Perfect Storm'
AMESBURY (CBS) – The organizer of an event that raised more than $30,000 for children fighting cancer over the weekend is apologizing to the community.
Beecher Grogan arranged Eggdrop-Palooza at the Amesbury Sports Park to raise money for Lucy's Love Bus.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports
The event featured a helicopter dropping thousands of candy-filled Easter eggs to kids waiting below.
But "the perfect storm," as Grogan describes it, turned her efforts into a major headache for attendees.
Only one detail police officer had been hired for the event. But people continued to arrive long after all 5,500 tickets to the event sold out, resulting in huge traffic back-ups.
To make matters worse, a number of kids got lost in the crowd, prompting 911 calls from parents.
Grogan and Amesbury Sports Park have both issued extensive apologies.
"I am taking full responsibility and ownership for everything that transpired yesterday, though some of it was completely unexpected and beyond my control," part of Grogan's statement read.
Amesbury Sports Park's apology promised a comprehensive safety review.
"We have been in the business of family fun and safety for quite some time, and it is deeply concerning to our entire team when our goals of offering good fun to kids of all ages falls short," the statement from Amesbury Sports Park said.
Grogan says they plan to meet with the Amesbury Police Department to discuss what went wrong and how they can prevent a similar situation in the future.
