On May 14, 1988, a youth group consisting of mostly teenagers who attended North Hardin High School, James T. Alton Middle School, Radcliff Middle School and four adults from Assembly of God in Radcliff, Kentucky, boarded their church activity bus and headed to Kings Island theme park in Mason, Ohio.
The group included church members and their invited guests. As everyone arrived early that Saturday morning, the number of those wanting to go on the trip had grown to more than originally anticipated. The church’s principal pastor (who stayed behind) restricted the ridership to the legal limit of 66 persons plus the driver.
At 10:55 p.m., while heading south on Interstate 71 outside of Carrollton, Kentucky, the bus collided almost head-on with a black 1987 Toyota pickup truck which was traveling the wrong way (north in the southbound lanes) at a high speed on a curved stretch of the highway. The small truck was driven by Larry Wayne Mahoney, a 34-year-old factory worker who was intoxicated.
Of the 67 people on the bus (counting the driver), there were 27 fatalities in the accident, the same number as the 1958 Prestonsburg, Kentucky, bus disaster.
Jason Booher, Pikeville High School Principal and one of the survivors of the bus crash, says, “Two takeaways to think about today: Cherish each day of life the good Lord gives us and try your best to stay positive even through life’s adversity & challenges.”
Mahoney later admitted he had been drinking in a bar and at a friend’s house prior to the collision. Police also found a twelve-pack of beer in Mahoney’s truck which was still cold and had several cans missing.
Kentucky now requires all school buses to have nine emergency exits—more than any other federal or state standard. This includes front and back doors, a side door, four emergency windows and two roof exits.The bus that crashed at Carrollton had only front and back exits.
Buses used by Kentucky schools must also have a cage around the fuel tank, a stronger frame and roof to resist crumpling on impact and rollover, high-backed seats, extra seat padding, a fuel system that slows leaks, flame-retardant seats and floors, reflective tape on all emergency exits, an eight-inch (20 cm) wide black band with the district name in white letters on the side, and strobe lights on the exterior. Schools also must have a diesel-powered fleet.
At a news conference on May 20, 1988, Governor Wallace Wilkinson announced stricter enforcement of drunk driving by the state, including police sobriety checkpoints and more frequent inspections by state Alcoholic Beverage Control.
