LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Inside the gym at North Hardin High School, an unfortunate but annual gathering of family and friends of those who were killed and those who survived the 1988 bus crash in Carroll County.
Twenty-seven people, including 24 children, were killed on a Saturday night, returning home from a trip to Kings Island. Their bus exploded after being hit by a drunk driver. Some children still found in their seats.
“Even 30 years later, that loss, that void remains," Karolyn Nunnallee said. Her 10-year-old daughter Patty was the youngest of the victims and the last to be identified. It was a bittersweet return to Radcliff and North Hardin High School.
“Because of my faith, I know that I was allowed to have her for 10 years. I was blessed to have her and the tragedy would have been to never have known her," she told WHAS11.
The 30th anniversary ceremony was not only a time to reflect on the 27 who died and the 40 others who survived, but it was also a homecoming for the first crisis response team from Mothers Against Drunk Driving who came from across the country to offer support.
“My prayers for you started immediately when I heard the news of this horrific crash," Millie Webb told the crowd.
Webb led the charge in 1988 - 16 years after her daughter and nephew were killed by a drunk driver. She and her husband were badly burned in the crash. “Your absolute willingness to stop and never give up, to find joy even in brief moments increasingly in each day inspired me then and still does," she said.
Larry Mahoney was the driver of the pickup truck who slammed into the bus. He was going the wrong way on I-71 and had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit. He served nearly 11 years in prison and was released in 1999.
►Contact reporter Robert Bradfield at rbradfield@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@RobertBreports) and Facebook.