Former MADD National President Karolyn Nunnallee shares a moment with survivors of the Kentucky bus crash. Karolyn’s 10-year-old daughter Patty was the youngest victim killed in the crash.
Honoring Victims of the Worst Drunk Driving Crash in U.S. History
Thirty years after the worst drunk driving crash in U.S. history, MADD gathered with survivors, family members and the community of Radcliff, Kentucky to remember the 24 children and three adults killed when a drunk driver slammed into their church bus on their way home from a day at Kings Island amusement park in Cincinnati.
The children who survived the fiery Carrollton bus crash are old enough to have children of their own, or even grandchildren. Some have spoken publicly over the years about life after the crash. Others have chosen to keep their stories private. Reunited in the gymnasium at North Hardin High School, they remembered the unimaginable horror the 40 survivors have carried with them since May 14, 1988. Quinton Higgins was 15 at the time. He suffered second and third degree burns and lung damage. His physical injuries have healed, but the memories of fighting his way through thick smoke and fire to escape through the back door of the bus are still vivid. He wonders why he made it and others didn’t. Quinton has emerged as a spokesperson for the survivors of the Carrollton bus crash. He keeps the memory alive of the Carrollton bus crash. He maintains contact with the families who still live in the area and those who have moved away, hosting barbecues at his home on the anniversary of the crash.
The memorial in Radcliff, Kentucky, the hometown of the crash victims.
Now a father of three, Quinton drives a school bus in his hometown of Hardin County, Kentucky. Quinton’s conversations with students go beyond the typical exchanges between driver and passenger. He tells the story of the crash that impacted his teen years,
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