Hundreds gather to mark 25th anniversary of Carroll Co. bus crash

RADCLIFF, Ky. (WDRB) -- It has been 25 years since the worst drunk driving crash in U.S. history took place, killing 27 people, mostly children.

WDRB attended the May 14 memorial service where survivors of that crash and loved ones of victims gathered.

It was a reunion of sorts, but an emotional one, for those who were there.

As painful as it is for them to remember, friends and family of the victims say it's comforting to come together, all having this tragedy in common.

"Until we draw our last breath, we will call your names in prayer," said Rev. Martha Tennison, Former Pastor of Radcliff First Assembly of God.

"It's really the first time many of the survivors have come together after the crash and the first time in probably 24 years that those of us who lost loved ones have come together," said Karolyn Nunnallee.

Tragedy broke their hearts but not their spirits.

Survivors of the bus crash, relatives who lost loved ones in the crash and those who responded to it embraced one another. It was a silent reminder of their shared pain.

"I see people I've known for 25 years that have pulled me out of the ditch of depression so many times," Nunnallee told WDRB.

On May 14th, 1988, a school bus carrying 67 people was returning to Radcliff from a church youth group field trip to Kings Island.

While they were driving through Carroll County, Larry Mahoney, a drunk driver, was going the wrong way on the interstate and hit the bus head on.

The crash killed 27 people, mostly children and injured 34 others.

Quinton Higgins was on the bus. He was 15 at the time.

"After about 10 seconds, we felt the heat, feeling like your skin's on fire and peeling off. You couldn't go anywhere. There were people in the back and it was pitch black," Higgins recalled.

Those affected say the pain lessens over time but never goes away.

"It didn't just affect the immediate families," said Nunnallee. "There were so many hundreds of thousands of lives who were touched."

On Wednesday, May 15, there's a public screening of the documentary that was made about the crash. Tickets are sold out but filmmakers say we can expect it in film festivals soon.