Field Trip Drama

Emily and the other 5th graders spent the day hiking in Acadia National Park.  According to Emily, 2 girls fainted due to lack of water.  Emily was in a group with her friends, Ansley and Daisy, so she had a great day!  She was worn out when she got home, though!

Zach and the other 1st graders went to Fort Knox.  Matt called me this afternoon to see if Zach was okay.  I had no idea why he was asking me this question.  Then he told me that he had read on the internet about a 7 year old boy from Bucksport who fell at Fort Knox during a field trip. 

 7-year-old boy taken to hospital after 15-foot fall at Fort Knox

By Dylan Martin, Special to the BDN

Posted June 12, 2012, at 3:47 p.m.
Last modified June 12, 2012, at 4:58 p.m.

PROSPECT, Maine — A 7-year-old boy from Bucksport was taken by LifeFlight to Eastern Maine Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon after he fell approximately 15 feet at Fort Knox while on a school field trip, police said.

While the first-grader was conscious after the fall, he suffered fractures in both arms and a laceration to his head, said Lt. Jason Trundy of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department. The lieutenant also said the child lost some teeth.

“He was talking,” Bucksport School Department Superintendent James Boothby said. “He actually walked back to his teacher after he fell.”

The boy was on a field trip to Fort Knox with his first-grade class and two other classes from G.H. Jewett School, the superintendent said.

Deputy Darrin Moody of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department went to Fort Knox just before 3 p.m., Trundy said. According to Moody’s report, the child was rolling down an unspecified hill and went over an embankment, where he then fell approximately 15 feet.

“Exactly where the chaperones were when the child rolled down the hill, I don’t know,” Trundy said.

Superintendent Boothby said “three teachers, a number of ed techs and some chaperones” attended the field trip and he had no indication of where they were when the child rolled down the hill.

CORRECTION:

An earlier version of this story reported that the child fell 20 feet, as originally reported by the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office. The child reportedly fell 15 feet.

When Matt got home, he questioned Zach about the boy and the accident.  It was a boy in Zach's class.  Zach saw him after the accident and Zach noticed that he had a bloody nose.  Zach admitted that other classmates were rolling down the hill.  Then he reluctantly admitted that he had rolled down the hill, too...once.  Matt has never liked bringing the kids to Fort Knox.  There are several places that are dangerous if you are not careful and are not paying attention.  Unfortunately, this boy rolled over one of those spots.

On a happier note, my Mom, Zoe, Emily, Eleanor & I went to see our Bucksport girls play in the Eastern Maine High School Softball Championship Game in Brewer.  They beat Calais 4-0!