Forty eight people have been charged after a ‘Redneck Rave’ in Kentucky descended into chaos as one man had his throat slit, a woman was choked in a fight over a blanket and another man became impaled on a log.
Tens of thousands of people attended the five-day Redneck Rave festival at Blue Holler Offroad Park in the small town of Mammoth Cave, 90 miles south of Louisville, last week.
Dozens of attendees were charged with a range of offenses from drug trafficking to felony assault.
Some were left seriously injured as grisly scenes unfolded at what organizers billed as ‘America’s wildest and craziest country party’.
Of the more violent incidents, one man had his throat slit by a friend after a drunken fight.
Tens of thousands of people attended the five-day Redneck Rave festival in the small town of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky last week
Dozens of attendees were charged with a range of offenses from drug trafficking to felony assault as the festival descended into chaos
‘They were intoxicated, they got into a fight, one of them slit the other one’s throat and then fled into the park,’ Edmonson County Sheriff Shane Doyle told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The throat-slasher still hadn’t been arrested by Wednesday.
In a separate incident, 29-year-old Lancer Hodges was arrested after he allegedly strangled a woman until she passed out when they got into a fight over a blanket.
The victim, who told police she couldn’t breathe and blacked out during the ordeal, was left with scratches on her neck and fingerprints behind her ears.
Hodges denied choking the woman but was charged with strangulation, wanton endangerment and fourth-degree domestic violent assault.
A man driving a side-by-side at the festival also ended up with a log impaled in his abdomen.
Authorities say the man drove over the log but it broke through the floorboard of his recreational vehicle and stabbed him in the abdomen.
‘When it tried to come out through his back it was stopped by a steel plate behind his seat,’ Sheriff Doyle said.
First responders were forced to leave the log in the man’s abdomen while they airlifted him to hospital.
The sheriff said he knew the event would cause problems and had desperately tried to plan for adequate policing in the park where the festival was held
The sheriff said he ended up making the decision to contain the illegal activity to the park because he did not have enough staff to try and stop it
By the end of the festival, 48 people were charged with varying offenses. There were 30 charges involving drugs or alcohol-related offenses, 63 traffic-related offenses and two arrest warrants were served on a fugitive
There were multiple others who suffered severed fingers, broken bones, dislocated joints and severe lacerations at the festival.
Medics also treated dozens more who had become ill because they were so drunk.
‘There were so many intoxicated people, we just decided, ‘If dispatch sends an ambulance in, we’re sending a deputy in with them,’ Doyle said.
The sheriff said he knew the event would cause problems and had desperately tried to plan for adequate policing in the park where the festival was held.
He ended up making the decision to contain the illegal activity to the park because he did not have enough staff to try and stop it.
Law enforcement were told to crack down on any illegal activity happening outside the park and set up checkpoints outside the festival.
‘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’.’
By the end of the festival, 48 people were charged with varying offenses.
The local sheriff said he ended up making the decision to try and contain the illegal activity to the park because he did not have enough staff to try and stop it. Pictured is an aerial view of the festival
Fourteen people were arrested and the others received citations. Those who were arrested were from Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri and Tennessee
Redneck Rave organizer Justin Stowers boasted that the festival was the ‘coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life’. Despite the havoc the event caused, Stowers thanked the police and fire departments for ‘working with us to make every thing run as smooth as we can’
There were 30 charges involving drugs or alcohol-related offenses, 63 traffic-related offenses and two arrest warrants were served on a fugitive.
There was also six felony charges including assault, strangulation and wanton endangerment.
Fourteen people were arrested and the others received citations.
Those who were arrested were from Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri and Tennessee.
Redneck Rave organizer Justin Stowers boasted that the festival was the ‘coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life’.
Despite the havoc the event caused, Stowers thanked the police and fire departments for ‘working with us to make every thing run as smooth as we can’.
‘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,’ he said in a Facebook post.
‘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.’
