Carroll Co. bus crash survivor using similar bus to spread DUI message

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - For the past five years, Quinton Higgins has been a bus driver for Hardin County schools.

However, it's another bus that's he's fixing up that's gaining attention.

Higgins is spreading a message about the Carroll County bus crash. The crash happened on May 14, 1988 when Higgins was 15-years-old.

“We were just a bunch of kids getting on an old school bus, church bus heading to Kings Island,” said Higgins.

There were 67 people on a bus that day. Higgins can remember even the smallest details, like where he sat on the bus.

“That was one of the first times I ever went to King's Island, and coming home it turned into the worst night of our life,” said Higgins.

Authorities say a factory worker by the name of Larry Mahoney was driving his pickup truck in the wrong direction on I-71 and hit the church bus head-on. The bus was filled with Hardin County kids and chaperones.

Police say Mahoney was drunk.

“We knew we hit something, and then all of a sudden all the kids got up in the aisle thinking we were gonna get off. And within 20 seconds you felt the heat come in the bus. You started hearing kids crying and screaming for their mom, panicking. That's when everybody started pushing on everybody to go one way, and I'm thinking to myself, why are we pushing to go one way, let's get off. If you looked at the front, that's where the fire was,” said Higgins.

Higgins passed out and was later pulled off the bus by a truck driver, who saved his life.

He woke up at Kosair Children's Hospital with burns to his body.

“I couldn't speak, and my dad was standing over me crying, and my dad never cries, “ he said.

Higgins would learn that his best friend, 15-year-old Anthony Marks, was among the 27 people who died in the fire.

The photos of the victims can be seen on the bus Higgins is now using to remember the crash. The bus is almost identical to the original bus from the crash. Higgins plans to place photos of all 27 victims in the windows. He'd also like the phrase '27 reasons not to drink and drive' across the side.

He plans to use this when speaking about the crash.

“Really just go around and share my message of not drinking and driving and keeping our story alive,” said Higgins.

Higgins says for so many years growing up, he blocked the crash out. Now he's ready to talk about it.

He says it was his faith that led him to this project and to forgiving the driver responsible.

“When he got up he made a dumb choice. That's something that I teach through speaking too. We all have made bad choices in our life. It just so happens his bad choice caused the nation's worst drunk driving crash,” said Higgins.

Now his goal is to get others to see the consequences.

“They're gonna remember seeing those 27 faces on that window. It might make them think,” he said.

Higgins still keeps in touch with some of the survivors from the crash.

He would eventually like for them to sign part of the bus that he'll be using when speaking about the crash.