A devastating ATV accident at Indian Mountain ATV Park in Piedmont, Alabama, claimed the lives of two Georgia parents with 13 kids and left seven of them hospitalized, authorities confirmed. The crash occurred when two off-road vehicles collided on a remote trail in the Appalachian foothills.
The larger of the two vehicles carrying nine people collided with a second ATV, overturned, and struck a tree after traveling approximately 150 feet. The driver, identified as 34-year-old Marcus Ragland of Rome, Georgia, was ejected from the ATV and pronounced dead at the scene. His partner, 31-year-old Ashley Hawkins, was a passenger and was airlifted to a hospital, where she later died of her injuries. Reportedly, no one in the second ATV was injured.
Officials say that neither Ragland, Hawkins, nor the seven children aged 1 to 12 present in the vehicle were wearing seatbelts or safety harnesses at the time. The kids, all siblings, suffered injuries of varying severity, from minor to life-threatening, and were airlifted to various hospitals.
Among them, Ragland's 13-year-old son sustained a skull fracture; a 10-year-old daughter suffered a broken collarbone; and another child, a 2-year-old, was treated for spleen injuries. In total, Ragland and Hawkins leave behind 13 children. Ragland was father to 10, Hawkins was mother to 3, including two they shared.
Aubrey Dunn, the mother of two of Ragland's children clarified to FOX 5 Atlanta that "My 1-year-old is limping, and his face is scratched up pretty bad, [my other son] has a gash on the top of his head, but he's okay, so thank God the babies are okay."
Ragland's mother, Felecia Towers, told Atlanta News First that "It's just so hard. I'm going to miss him. I loved him. I don't know what else to say. He was a good boy. He was really fun to be around. He met no strangers. He was friends with everyone." According to Towers, Ragland was visited the ATV park every weekend.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support the surviving children and has already received an outpouring of community support. Despite existing safety rules at the Indian Mountain ATV Park, enforcement is challenging due to its 4,700-acre size. Cherokee County Emergency Management Director Shawn Rogers added, "Always wear your restraint system and never exceed the number of passengers your vehicle is designed for."
The sheriff's office is continuing its investigation into the accident and is awaiting toxicology results to determine whether alcohol played a role in the crash.
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