Drinking Alleged After Clarkstown North High School's Homecoming
NEW CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Homecoming night in Rockland County could have taken a dangerous turn. Police are looking into reports that underage students were hospitalized because they drank too much.
Clarkstown Police are looking into claims that students riding a bus to New York City for a cruise on homecoming night became violently ill because of drinking. Investigators said if they were drinking they want to know where the drinks came from and when this all took place.
"One individual is described as being unresponsive when picked up by an ambulance on the side of the road, so it is serious," Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe told CBS 2's Ann Mercogliano.
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One bus never made it to the cruise. Terry Sheridan of 1010 WINS reports the driver diverted to the hospital after several students began vomiting onboard.
"We received a number of very disturbing complaints from parents indicating underage students from Clarkstown North High School may have been at a party in New City, N.Y., where alcohol was being served and we're looking to determine if any adults were involved," Zugibe said.
PTSA president Rhea Vogel doesn't want this to becoming a sweeping indictment.
"I think the majority of our students don't engage in this sort of thing and, for those students who did, I feel very for them and for their families," she told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams.
One parent who asked that her identity be protected told CBS 2's Mercogliano her daughter -- a graduate of Clarkstown North -- claims she saw a student with her mother earlier that day in a liquor store and said it was unusual.
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"She saw a parent bringing a cheerleader into the local liquor store, buying liquor that afternoon," the parent said. "We would be fools to think it didn't go on but that's condoning the behavior and it's beyond reason."
Police said they're still trying to piece together what happened.
"This is the first case I have knowledge of that nobody has come forward and said we have a problem," Clarkstown Police Sgt. Harry Baumann said.
Investigators said there's been no official complaints made and that they want people to come forward if they know something.
Investigators said the bus trip was not a school function. Mercogliano reached out to the Clarkstown School District, but had not heard back.
Have you spoken to your teenage children about the dangers of alcohol? What did you tell them? Share your tips in the comments section below!
