http://www.wbaltv.com/news/16784212/detail.html

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. -- The Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks is apologizing to an autistic boy's mother after the boy managed to wander onto a busy road from his summer camp.

 

 

Colin Hayes, 7, was playing hide and seek with his counselor at the Summer Sensations Day Camp at Veterans Elementary School in Ellicott City on June 23 when he wandered off. His mother, Kristen Detwiler, said she found him on Route 100 about a half-mile away from the camp.

 

"I turned the corner, and as soon as I had visibility on Route 100, Colin was walking on the shoulder toward traffic," she said.  (EDIT:  Route 100 is a very busy and dangerous road/almost highway, cars speeding very fast, at least, it is to me).

 

A motorist stopped the boy and Detwiler picked him up with police assistance. She said she was angry at the response she got from county Parks and Recreation officials who run the camp.

 

"I got out of the car and said, 'Help me understand why my son is on Route 100.' And no one had any answers for me," Detwiler said.

 

"The folks at Recreation and Parks did not follow protocol. They did not call police soon enough. They searched the school, and it took them a long time before they called police," said County Executive Ken Ulman, whose office oversees Parks and Recreation.

 

He said his office is taking full responsibility for the incident, calling what happened inexcusable.

 

"We're doing retraining with counselors to make sure this never happens again. We have the Autism Society of Howard County coming in to do training with program managers on July 15. We're really trying to be proactive," Ulman said.

 

Detwiler said the county's reaction is promising, but still thinks it's hard to get over. She said she's hoping other parents will hear her story.

 

"I'm hoping that by giving this information out, that Howard County residents understand there is strength in numbers by saying this isn't the way things should have been handled, that things change quickly," she said.

 

Ulman said he plans to speak with the director of Recreation and Parks when that person returns from vacation on Monday.

 

Summer camp officials said no one has been fired, but that Colin's counselor has been assigned to other duties. 

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