Just down the road from Hersheypark, on Hersheypark Drive, is the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. It is located on the same hill as The Hotel Hershey and Catherine Hall, part of Milton Hershey School.
On Wednesday, December 19, tear gas from a training drill at the Academy blew into the Midway America section of Hersheypark. As the gas seeped into the park, some guests in that region began complaining of coughing and sore throat. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, there are no long-term adverse effects from this kind of exposure.
This is an unusual occurrence as the State Police have done live tear gas trainings in the past and it had no impact on the park. As to why this happened, the State Police said an unexpected sudden change in winds caused the tear gas to drift into the park. Once the park became aware of the complaints, they contacted the State Police who stopped the drill immediately.
For more information, check out PennLive’s article on the incident:
