[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3424-S3425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             25TH ANNIVERSARY OF KENTUCKY BUS CRASH TRAGEDY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I rise today to commemorate a sad and 
tragic event in Kentucky history that happened 25 years ago today: on 
May 14, 1988, a horrific bus crash occurred on I-71 near Carrollton, 
KY. Twenty-seven people were killed, 24 of them children, and 34 were 
injured when a drunk driver traveling in the wrong direction hit the 
bus. It remains the worst drunk-driving crash in American history.
  On this day 25 years ago, the Radcliff First Assembly of God Church 
in Radcliff, KY, organized a youth trip to a nearby amusement park, and 
drove 170 miles to Cincinnati in the church bus. The bus was full with 
67 passengers. After a fun day of roller coasters and ice cream, at 
10:55 that night, on the return trip, a drunk driver in a pickup truck 
traveling north in the southbound lane of I-71 struck the church bus 
directly head-on.

[[Page S3425]]

  The impact ruptured the bus's 60-gallon gasoline tank, starting a 
fire which reached 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit and filled the bus with 
smoke. With the front door blocked by collision damage, and no 
emergency exits in the windows or roof, most of the survivors exited 
through a single emergency exit at the rear of the bus. Of the 40 
survivors, only 6 escaped uninjured. Many others suffered severe burns 
and other injuries. And 27 lives were lost in that crash.
  I want to extend my gratitude to the Kentucky State Police, who not 
only provided rescue efforts at the scene and crash reconstruction 
analysis afterwards, but were also the lead investigative agency for 
this tragedy, following the case through to the prosecution phase. 
Current Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer was one of the 
investigators who worked on the challenging case.
  Remembrances and observances in honor of the victims are happening in 
Kentucky today, where dozens of families remain grief stricken by the 
senseless loss of their beloved child. Those who survived the crash are 
still haunted by what happened. I wish to express my deepest sympathies 
for the victims' families, the survivors, first responders, and all 
those who were touched by this tragedy. The people of Kentucky stand 
with you today and share your sorrow.
  If any good can be said to have come from this awful event, it is 
that it directed national attention on driving safety, the dangers of 
drunk driving, and safety requirements in buses. Kentucky took the lead 
in responding to this tragedy by requiring school buses to have more 
emergency exits than the Federal standard and instituting stricter 
drunken driving laws.
  Madam President, I know my colleagues in the Senate join me today in 
paying tribute to the 27 people who were killed in this bus crash, to 
their families who grieve today, to the surviving passengers who must 
still live with the nightmare of what happened, to their families, to 
the law enforcement officers and first responders who assisted in 
rescuing the passengers, and to every Kentuckian whose life was altered 
by the events of that fateful day.
  Even today, 27 people are killed every day in America as a result of 
drunken driving. In 2011, drunk driving killed 9,878 on America's roads 
and injured over 300,000. I believe one way we can honor the memories 
of the victims of this terrible accident is to continue to speak out 
against the dangers of drunk driving and work towards its elimination. 
No family should have to endure the suffering that so many Kentucky 
families did on this day 25 years ago.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the names of the 27 
crash victims be included in the Record following my remarks. I yield 
the floor.
  There being no objection, the names of the 27 victims of the tragedy 
of May 14, 1988, were entered into the Record as follows:

       Jennifer Ann Arnett, Cynthia Anne Atherton, Sandy Brewer, 
     Joshua Conyers, Mary Catheryn Daniels, Julie Ann Earnest, 
     Kashawn Etheredge, Shannon Rae Fair, Dwailla Fischel, Richard 
     Keith Gohn, Lori Kathleen Holzer, Charles ``Chuck'' Kytta, 
     Anthony Marks.
       April Mills, Phillip Lee Morgan, Tina Michelle Mustain, 
     William J. Nichols, Jr., Patricia Susan Nunnallee, John R. 
     Pearman, Emillie S. Thompson, Crystal Erin Uhey, Denise Ellen 
     Voglund, Amy Christine Wheelock, Joy Williams, Kristen 
     Williams, Robin Williams, Chad Anthony Witt.

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