A five-day "Redneck Rave" in Kentucky led to 48 people from five states being charged.
A "Redneck Rave" festival in Kentucky that was attended by thousands descended into violence, arrests and freak accidents including a man who was impaled by a log while riding an all-terrain vehicle, authorities said.
The five-day bash also ended with a woman being choked until she passed out during an argument over a blanket, another person having their throat slashed in a fight, and a person losing a portion of a finger, according to deputies. In all, 14 people were arrested and 48 people from five states were charged, said Edmondson County Sheriff Shane Doyle.
The charges ranged from assault and strangulation to drug and alcohol possession, authorities said.
Blue Holler Offroad Park was home to the event that organizers promoted as “mud, music and mayhem.” It was organized by a country rapper known as “Justin Time.”
Authorities had their work cut out for them in a town so small it doesn't have a stop light.
Doyle told the Lexington Herald Leader he didn't have enough staff to shut down the festival, and could only hope to contain it. The sheriff said he enlisted volunteers and placed his deputies on mandatory overtime. Traffic checkpoints were established to search cars headed into the park.
“The first vehicle that came through, we found meth, marijuana, and an open alcohol container,” Doyle said. “And then one of the occupants had two active warrants ... We were like ‘well, this doesn’t bode well for the weekend.’”
The man who was impaled had been driving a side-by-side vehicle when he ran over a log that shot through the floorboard and impaled him through the abdomen to a steel plate behind his seat, Doyle said.
Another man lost part of his finger when his car slipped off a jack and landed on his hand. Others were so intoxicated they became physically ill, Doyle said.
"There were so many intoxicated people, we just decided if dispatch sends an ambulance in, we’re sending a deputy in with them," the sheriff said.
Justin Time, whose real name is Justin Stowers, wrote, “We can definitely improve on a lot of things to make the one in October run a lot better,” Stowers said in a Facebook post. “We are listening to all your suggestions. 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.”
Another Redneck Rave is scheduled for October at the park.
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