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The family of 13-year-old Marcus Ragland Jr. said he protected his younger brother in the crash. Seven siblings and two adults were in the ATV.
ROME, Ga. — Two Rome, Georgia, parents were killed and seven children were hospitalized after an ATV crash at Indian Mountain ATV Park in Alabama.
Cherokee County Coroner Paul McDonald identified the adults killed as Marcus Ragland and Ashley Hawkins.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office reported that a side-by-side RZR carrying nine passengers crashed into another ATV, causing it to flip over and collide with a tree on Saturday.
Thirteen-year-old Marcus Ragland Jr., known as MJ, was flown to Birmingham, where he remains in the ICU.
“He’s still in the intensive care unit. He’s doing well, but his entire face is badly bruised—as if it is a cracked egg. His eye is completely swollen shut,” MJ’s mother, Destiny Huggins, said.
MJ’s stepfather, Jacquan Brock, said the teenager tried to protect his younger brother during the crash.
“MJ put his life on the line to protect his younger brother, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. When the crash happened, MJ wrapped his arm around his brother and shielded his face,” Brock explained.
Huggins said only two of the children were wearing seatbelts.
“In a situation like this, where I had no control, I expected these businesses to ensure my child’s safety at the venue they permitted us to enter,” she stated.
Huggins shared what her son Gabriel told her about the crash.
“They were going quite fast, climbing a hill as Gabriel described. You need to accelerate hard to ascend the hill. As they reached the top and started descending the mountain, another ATV appeared. Marcus tried to avoid it but clipped it, causing the vehicle to fall off the cliff and hit a tree,” she recounted.
First responders were delayed getting to the crash site due to its remoteness.
She and Brock want more safety measures put in place at the park.
As MJ continues his recovery, Huggins said the family has been leaning on community support.
“Any support, even if it’s a prayer. As soon as I started asking for prayers, he started getting better,” she said.
An online campaign has been created to help with MJ’s medical expenses.
