Scandal Water

“We never have been able to separate the two issues. There was the drunk driver who caused the crash, and there was the unsafe bus. If the bus had been safe, none of the children would have died in that crash…”  

These words were spoken by Karolyn Nunnallee, mother of 10-year-old Patty, the youngest child who died in the Carrollton Bus Crash. 

In episode 7, “Lawsuits,” we share how both of those issues were addressed following the tragedy. 

Specifically, we discuss the trial of Larry Mahoney that took place in 1989, and the legal action that was pursued against the manufacturers of the school bus on which the church youth group from Radcliff, Kentucky, was being transported. 

All the episodes in the Carrollton Bus Crash series are available in audio form on your favorite podcast app, or you can view the recordings on the Scandal Water Podcast YouTube channel. 

How to support Scandal Water:

“For burn victims, the treatment for burns is almost as bad– if not worse–than the actual injury itself…”

This observation was made by Harold Dennis, Jr., one of the survivors of the Carrollton Bus Crash. And as these words allude, for the majority of the 40 passengers who managed to escape that fiery church bus on May 14, 1988, the nightmare was far from over. 

In episode 6, “Scars,” we discuss the recovery process that some of the survivors had to undergo, and how they have dealt with the long-term physical and emotional trauma that resulted from their horrific experience. 

All the episodes in the Carrollton Bus Crash series are available in audio form on your favorite podcast app, or you can view the recordings on the Scandal Water Podcast YouTube channel. 

How to support Scandal Water:

“From the time they hit ‘til the time the bus came to final rest, it took 1.94 seconds. The bus was already on fire…”

This was one of the many discoveries brought to light by the investigators of the Carrollton Bus Crash in the days and months following that tragic event.

In episode 5 of our series on the Carrollton Bus Crash, we share key findings related to two areas of the investigation: 

All the episodes in the Carrollton Bus Crash series are available in audio form on your favorite podcast app, or you can view the recordings on the Scandal Water Podcast YouTube channel. 

How to support Scandal Water:

The morning of May 14, 1988, 14-year-old Joe Percefull boarded a church bus in Radcliff, Kentucky, excited to spend a fun day at King’s Island with his best friend Josh Conyers and other teens he knew. 

Joe never dreamed that by the next morning his best friend would be gone and he would be on a ventilator in a Louisville hospital, fighting for his life. 

In this compelling interview, Joe Percefull, a survivor of the Carrollton Bus Crash and an accomplished retired educator with whom Candy had the privilege to work many years ago, shares his insights about the horrific bus fire, his long recovery, Larry Mahoney, the experience he considers most life-changing, and so much more. 

You can view this powerful interview with Carrollton Bus Crash survivor Joe Percefull on the Scandal Water Podcast YouTube channel, or listen on your favorite podcast app. 

How to support Scandal Water:

“I see the shiny little black pickup truck going the wrong way…”

This is what eyewitness Jack Armstrong said to his wife as they traveled on I-71, just before the fateful collision that came to be known as the Carrollton Bus Crash. 

Episode 3 of our series on this tragic event details what occurred in those first hours after the crash, as investigators arrived on the scene, the driver of the pickup was identified, and families began to learn what had happened to their loved ones.

All the episodes in the Carrollton Bus Crash series are available in audio form on your favorite podcast app, or you can view the recording on the Scandal Water Podcast YouTube channel. 

How to support Scandal Water:

“What we didn’t know was that where you sat on the bus that night literally determined your fate…”

These words were spoken by Harold Dennis, Jr., a survivor of the Carrollton Bus Crash. 

Harold was one of the 40 passengers who– late in the evening of May 14, 1988– made it off the church bus that had turned into a fiery inferno after being hit nearly head-on by a drunk driver. 

In episode 2 of our series on the Carrollton Bus Crash we share accounts from Harold and other survivors about the crash and their escape from the burning bus, as gleaned from the 2013 documentary “Impact: After the Crash” and other sources. 

Listen on your favorite app or view the recording on the Scandal Water Podcast YouTube channel. 

How to support Scandal Water:

On Saturday, May 14, 1988, a group left the Radcliff First Assembly of God in Kentucky for a fun youth trip to Kings Island amusement park, never dreaming that 27 of them wouldn’t make it home. 

To this day, the tragedy known as the Carrollton Bus Crash remains the deadliest drunk driving incident in U.S. history. 

In episode 1 of our limited series on the Carrollton Bus Crash, we discuss the circumstances leading up to that fateful church trip and introduce a number of the 67 passengers who boarded the bus that beautiful May morning– the vast majority of them children. 

Listen on your favorite app or view the recording on the Scandal Water Podcast YouTube channel. 

How to support Scandal Water:

This episode of Scandal Water contains adult themes and descriptions of violence. It is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

This episode of Scandal Water contains adult themes and descriptions of violence. It is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

This episode of Scandal Water contains adult themes and descriptions of violence. It is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.