Car Accident On A Youth Trip

That’s my truck after it hit a car.

Headed to a winter retreat with high school students when on the way we got caught in a snow storm. Things were going great until they weren’t.

My truck hit a car that had lost control and stopped in the middle of the road. I wasn’t driving but the one who was slowed down and nearly missed it. Everyone was fine and the damage was minimal.

The first thing I did was tell the students to hold off on social media.

The last thing I needed was someone tweeting or updating their status with: “We just hit another car LOL! And the ambulance just showed up. #winterretreat”

A parent reads that and rightfully starts a petition forcing me to resign.

Once we got to the hotel I started calling all the parents starting with the students who were in the vehicle. Now because whenever the youth pastor calls a parent after 10pm it is never good I had to come up with a plan. So after I identified myself I did the following:

  1. Everyone is safe
  2. Your kid is no longer at risk
  3. Here’s what happened

In previous situations I rambled and tripped over my words because I was worried about covering my own butt. When all parents care about is whether or not their kids are safe.

You won’t be trusted because you never encounter a problem, but because when you do you handle it well.

To be honest this is still fresh, any advice or insight on how you would handle a situation like this?

 

February 14, 2012 in Uncategorized with 8 Comments

About Josh: Josh is a Rookie Pastor who works for a local church that he loves. He coordinates local lunch meet-ups with other Rookie Pastors in the Indianapolis area and is starting to think about writing a book.

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8 Responses to “Car Accident On A Youth Trip”

  1. Kim February 14, 2012 at 12:28 pm #

    No advice but 1) glad everyone’s ok. 2) from a parental standpoint I know some accidents are unavoidable and as long as noone was being reckless all I care about is that my kid is safe!

    Reply
    • Josh February 14, 2012 at 12:46 pm #

      yep thankfully that was the case and it was just one of those things. Now I get to play the insurance game to figure out what comes next.

      Reply
  2. Josh February 14, 2012 at 3:17 pm #

    What do you all think about a further follow up with parents here after the fact?

    Just to make sure everybody is still good and to answer any further questions they may have?

    Would love a parental perspective on this.

    Reply
  3. Lucinda Ryan February 14, 2012 at 9:16 pm #

    Accidents happen, Josh! It could just as easily been one of the parents driving.

    Reply
  4. Kim February 14, 2012 at 10:19 pm #

    If they have questions you aren’t hard to find BUT it wouldn’t hurt to call and check in on everyone. Just to make sure everyone is still ok. I was FLOORED when our new pediatrician called e himself to follow up on my kid. Noone goes the extra mile anymore.

    Reply
  5. Tyler Gipson February 15, 2012 at 9:35 am #

    Did you get frozen underwear or freezing cold water in the shower? Buahhaha

    Reply
    • Josh February 15, 2012 at 9:40 am #

      no these students actually love me. What was your excuse?

      Reply

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  1. Updated: Car Accident on a Youth Trip | Rookie Pastor - February 17, 2012

    [...] Car Accident on a Youth Trip As I previously shared, last weekend my truck was in an accident on the way to camp with high school students. No one was [...]

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