Nearly 50 People Charged During 'Redneck Rave' in Kentucky

Kentucky’s “Redneck Rave” turned out to be much worse than many people had anticipated.

According to NBC affiliate WNKY 40,  the five-day event took place in between June 16-20 in the small town of Mammoth Cave, where thousands of people gathered for what was billed as “America’s wildest & craziest country party.” The festivities reportedly included musical concerts, a demolition derby, as well as mud pits; but the bash wasn’t all fun and games for some attendees, as it developed into a nightmare of gruesome injuries, horrific assaults, and mass arrests.

The Edmonson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that 48 people had been criminally charged during the rave, and 14 of them were arrested. Though law enforcement said many of the charges were drug- and alcohol-related, they confirmed a few disturbing instances that occurred throughout the celebration: One attendee was reportedly strangled “until she was losing consciousness,” another severed and dislocated their fingers, a man had his throat slit, and one party-goer was impaled after he drove over a 2-to-3 inch log that ripped through the floorboard and into his stomach. 

A woman who said she is the wife of the man who got impaled called the incident a “freak accident” and thanked Redneck Rave and Blue Holler Offroad Park for their “professionalism.”

“The people that live here, they don’t want this business here,” Sheriff Shane Doyle told the Lexington Herald Leader. “What we want are responsible businesses that add to the value of our communities. That business (Blue Holler Offroad Park) has the capability of being that. To date, it hasn’t always added value to the community. At times, it adds stress to the community.”

But despite the slew of injuries and criminal charges, “Redneck Rave” is expected to return sometime in October. Organizer Justin Stowers, aka Justin Time, addressed the bad publicity in a Facebook post Monday, stating the bash “was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“We can definitely improve on a lot of things to make the one in October run a lot better … we are listening to all your suggestions,” his post read in part. “This was the biggest event we’ve ever done and with as many people and random things that popped up unexpectedly I feel like we all handled it very well. For the negative Nancy’s… we will put a complaint box by the porta johns next time for ya. With all that being said… I personally wanna say thank you to everyone who’s ever believed in what we’re doing.”