INDIANAPOLIS -- The sole survivor of a railroad serial killer told her harrowing story in Indianapolis on Friday in hopes of raising awareness for the need to end sexual violence.

Holly Dunn Pendleton was the guest speaker at a statewide conference for the Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault, 6News' Julie Pursley reported.

Pendleton is the only known survivor of railroad serial killer Angel Resendiz, who was executed in Texas in 2006 for murdering 15 people.

Resendiz killed Holly's boyfriend, Chris Maier, in front of her when he attacked the two of them along railroad tracks in Lexington, Ky., in 1997.

"He … tied us up, gagged us, eventually hit my boyfriend with a 52-pound rock and then came over to me," Pendleton said. "I started kicking and screaming. He actually stabbed me and he said, 'Look how easily I could kill you,' and he raped me."

A public service announcement about to hit the airwaves across Indiana will focus on Pendleton's story.

"I have not been afraid to talk about what happened, because I knew it would not only help us figure out who had done this, but it would also hopefully help save others," said Pendleton.

A special recognition license plate is part of the End Violence Together campaign launched by the Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault. For every purchase of the specialty plate, $25 will go directly to the coalition.

"All the money generated goes out to rape crisis centers, direct victims' service providers," said Anita Carpenter, CEO of INCASA.

Pendleton said she hopes the campaign, along with the plates, will empower victims.

"Speaking now and hopefully creating awareness, just trying to inspire other survivors to know that there the life after something bad happens, and you can move on," she said.

Pendleton went on to graduate from the University of Kentucky. She said she's now happily married and works as a victims' advocate and public speaker.

The license plates are already available and Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles branches.