20 Years Later....

As I was reading the local newspaper, I came across an article that got my attention (Death of Girl, 10, in DUI Crash Not in Vain). At first I wasn’t aware of what it was until I skimmed through the article and saw a familiar name, Karolyn Nunnallee. Many of you may have remembered that terrible- horrific bus accident that occurred the night of May 14, 1988 in Carrollton, KY. I was 5 at the time and remember quite a bit. I remember my parents turning on the television and seeing coverage of the accident on the news. On that fateful night, a repeat DUI offender with a .24 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC), heading the wrong way down the highway in a pickup truck, slammed into a bus returning from a church trip to Kings Island Amusement Park. The fiery crash killed 27 passengers, 24 youth, three adults and 34 injured, many with mutilating burns.. Majority of them attended our church (First Assemblies of God, in Radcliff KY- Pastored by The Tennisons).
This crash is still the deadliest drunken-driving crash in American history.
Larry Mahoney, who drove the pickup, was a repeat drunken-driving offender. His blood alcohol was .24 percent, far exceeding the legal limit in Kentucky. Age 34 at the time of the accident, he survived with only minor injuries. Mahoney spent 9 1/2 years in prison for wiping away what could have been 1,000 years or more of life from the 27 who died.
Many of our family friend’s children died that night. That horrible event ended some marriages, brought people together, turned people away from God and some perhaps closer to God. Many of the young people that escaped were badly burned and had to be hospitalized for many months. I remember visiting one of our friend’s years later and looking into her dead son’s room. I felt hurt.
PLEASE DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE……IT HURTS SO MANY PEOPLE
I remember attending the funeral and seeing so many caskets and their pictures and even as a young child I guess I was confused but also sad.

“For nearly 20 years I have fought on the grassroots level adhering to the mission of MADD, and my work is far from over. As a victim advocate I am so grateful that MADD took the lead and formed the first Crises Response Team in the nation. They were the first to assist the first responders in the crash and then coming to Radcliff to assist the families whose loved ones were killed and those who were scarred physically and mentally in the crash. " – Karolyn Nunnallee (mother of the youngest child that was killed (10yrs old)- 2 weeks after the accident she become heavily involved in MADD and is still to this day)

Some of the gains made in the 1990s have slipped in the 2000s. Fatalities have remained steady, but alcohol-related crashes statewide are up 60 percent since 2000. And they're up in Campbell (72 percent), Boone (51 percent) and Kenton (39 percent) counties.

Drunken drivers may be out on the roads earlier than you think. Suspected alcohol-related crashes peak between 10 p.m. and midnight - but the happy hour can be just as dangerous as 2 a.m.
Most alcohol-related crashes involve drivers under 32 years old, with the likelihood peaking in the early 20s.
Men are almost four times as likely to be the driver in an alcohol-related crash.
Among the most dangerous days: New Year's Day, the day after Cinco de Mayo (May 6) and Independence Day.

PLEASE DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE…..IT KILLS