Charity Easter Egg Drop Leads to 911 Calls in Amesbury, Mass.

(NECN: Julie Loncich, Amesbury, Mass.) – The organizer of a charity Easter egg drop is apologizing. The event in Amesbury, Mass. got so out of hand that some parents called 911.

“We lost control of it because we were just inundated,” says Beecher Grogan of Lucy’s Love Bus.

Grogan has planned and executed several large scale events since launching Lucy's Love Bus years ago, named for her daughter who lost her battle with cancer at the age 12. But on Saturday morning, after all 5,500 tickets sold, Grogan says she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

“Thousands and thousands of people came who did not have tickets and were not supposed to show up and we were not prepared,” she says.

Parking for that many was nonexistent, traffic backed up on 495 and, when it came time for the egg drop, parents who had been asked to stay stormed the field at the Amesbury Sports Park. Children were temporarily separated from families. One family even called 911 three times.

“How do you anticipate that the number of people, above and beyond what you planned, come in,” asked Amesbury Mayor Thatcher Kezer III.

Amesbury's Mayor says going forward, they will have a game plan for future events should they get out of hand. In the end, though, no one was hurt, children and parents were reunited and Grogan raised $30,000 for other children fighting the disease that claimed her daughter's life.

“No I don't regret anything in life,” Grogan says. “I survived the death of my daughter and turned that into something really powerful.”

Grogan did tell NECN that she will not be holding the event next year.

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