May 14, 1988: A drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group from neaby Radcliff. The resulting fire kills 27, making it, to the present day, tied for 1st in the U.S. for the most fatalities involving 2 vehicles.
In the aftermath of the disaster, several family members of victims became active leaders of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and one, Karolyn Nunnallee, became national president of the organization.
The standards for both operation and equipment for school buses and similar buses were improved in Kentucky and many other states. These include an increased number of emergency exits, higher standards for structural integrity, and the use of less volatile diesel fuel.
In a sad coincidence, the other 2-vehicle accident involving a bus that killed 27 also occurred in Kentucky, in Prestonburg, on February 28, 1958.
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May 14, 1988 was a Saturday. This was also the day that Wimbledon F.C. upset Liverpool F.C. in the FA Cup Final. I have a separate entry for this event.
These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 6-2 at Yankee Stadium. Tommy John, just short of his 45th birthday, won the 279th of what turned out to be 288 games. Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield each hit a home run, while Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4.
* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Krukow outpitched Ron Darling.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Roger Clemens pitched a 3-hit shutout.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Bob Welch pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching Mike Boddicker. Mark McGwire and Dave Parker hit home runs. Eddie Murray went 1-for-3 with a walk. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4. The Orioles fell to 5-30 on the season, which started 0-21.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Les Straker pitched a 4-hit shutout, outpitching Frank Tanana.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 1-for-4 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 1-for-5.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. This game went 19 innings, before Ken Griffey Sr. doubled home Dion James and Dale Murphy.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. George Brett went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos, 3-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.
* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4.
Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls, 101-79 at the Chicago Stadium. The Bulls and Michael Jordan, who led all scorers, albeit with just 24 points, were not yet ready to rise to the top of the Eastern Conference. The Pistons were. And the Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 107-105 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas. Neither of these teams was ready to dethrone the Los Angeles Lakers as the top team in the Western Conference.
There was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Game 7 of the Prince of Wales Conference Finals. The Boston Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils, 6-2. The Devils had won Game 2 in Boston, but the Bruins had taken Game 3 at the Meadowlands to regain home-ice advantage. After 5 very bad seasons to start their existence, the Devils had put together a fine season in Season 6. They were 5 games away from winning the Stanley Cup. But they would not get closer than that for another 7 years.
