WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS PHOTOS OF BURNS THAT MAY BE SENSITIVE TO SOME READERS
INDIANAPOLIS — An east side father, Travis Peagler, is shocked at the damage done to his daughter's hands during an after-school practice.
"I'm a former 82nd Airborne Division soldier. Jumping out of airplanes and all that, training to be an aeronaut. My hands have never looked the way her hands looked,” Peagler said.
The 14-year-old Warren Central High School freshman is still in the hospital recovering from second-degree burns after doing bear crawls on hot asphalt during majorette practice.
Wednesday night, her parents shared their concern, and the district told WRTV’s Amber Grigley, she wasn't the only one hurt.
"How was practice? And she said, 'Uh, it was all right or whatever, you know, not too good really.' And so, I noticed she was holding her hands when I said, 'Let me see your hands.' So, she showed me her hands, and what I saw, I was a shock," Peagler said.
A discovery last Thursday when Travis Peagler picked his daughter up from majorette practice at Warren Central High School.
"I'm like, 'How did your hands get like that?' And she said, 'Well, the coach, uh, had us doing bear crawls,'" Peagler said.
Bear crawls on the track's asphalt at the school's stadium, sent Travis' daughter home with multiple blisters. His daughter told him she was instructed to do extra because of her grades.
"I'm a former soldier. I'm all about discipline. Getting in shape, using hard exercises to discipline a child, but this isn't discipline. It's child abuse," Peagler said.
Travis' wife, Stacey Peagler, told WRTV that when she reached out to her daughter's dance instructor, the story shifted.
"Immediately after I sent the pictures to her, I saw a link come through at first to all the parents, saying, 'Hey, the girls had a great practice. It was pretty hard, though, for them. I'm proud of them. They pushed through. Some of the girls may come, you know, come home with some blisters, and you know it went through talking about the next practice, blah blah blah, this is the next performance,' and at the end there's an attachment for how to treat blisters," said mom, Stacey Peagler.
Travis and Stacey's daughter wasn't the only dancer injured.
A statement from Warren Township Schools,
We are aware of an incident during last week’s dance team practice involving a conditioning drill on the track that resulted in several students sustaining blisters to their hands from the surface. We are taking this matter very seriously, conducting an active investigation, and remain in close contact with students and families to support their recovery. The safety and well-being of our student-athletes will always be our top priority, and we remain committed to listening to our students and families as we learn from this incident.
The family's attorney, Dustin Fregiato, said they have not filed any formal documents yet, pending her recovery.
"The school is accountable for what happened and hopefully make some changes to some safety policies and precautions in the future," Fregiato said.
"These are young girls. They're not training to be a Navy SEAL or Army Ranger, and even their hands don't look like that. So it makes no sense to me, we just want the school to be held accountable and hold their staff accountable," Travis Peagler said.
A police report was filed from Riley Hospital the night the incident happened, but it's not clear if anyone will face charges. Travis and Stacey tell WRTV their daughter has been competing in dance since she was three years old, and making the majorette team was the highlight of starting high school.
