PIEDMONT, Ala. — In a tragic incident at an isolated all-terrain vehicle park in Alabama, two adults lost their lives and seven children sustained injuries, according to authorities. It was noted that none of the individuals in the off-road vehicle were harnessed or restrained.
The incident involved a side-by-side RZR, an ATV model, which was overloaded with nine passengers. It collided with another ATV on Saturday, flipped over, and crashed into a tree at Indian Mountain ATV Park in Piedmont, as stated by Shawn Rogers, the Director of the Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency, during a Sunday news briefing.
The male driver was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver indicated that the deceased driver seemed to be speeding when their ATV hit another vehicle, whose operator attempted to evade the crash.
The sheriff’s department is conducting toxicology tests to check for the presence of alcohol, as its possession is illegal outside the towns and cities in Cherokee County, a prohibition that has been in effect since the Prohibition era approximately a hundred years ago.
Four medical helicopters airlifted an adult female and three children to trauma centers in Birmingham; unfortunately, the woman succumbed to her injuries, authorities reported. Meanwhile, ambulances transported the remaining four children to a hospital in Rome, Georgia.
Rogers said officials have been told not one of the nine in the ATV was harnessed or restrained.
“‘I’m sure that it’s not recommended to have nine people, especially young children, in a RZR not using safety harnesses,” Shaver said.
“There are no regulations requiring everyone in a side-by-side vehicle to be restrained,” Rogers stated. “However, it’s crucial for individuals to practice personal responsibility to safeguard their own safety and that of others under their care.”
The children injured ranged in age from 1 to 12 years old. Cherokee County Coroner Paul McDonald said in a text to The Associated Press Sunday that the man who died was the father of all seven children and that the woman was the mother of three of the children.
All the victims were from Georgia, McDonald said.
No identities have been released pending family notifications. Rogers said officials did not know the medical status of any of the children or have updates on their conditions.
The two people in the other ATV were not injured and tried to render aid, Shaver said.
The accident site was in a remote location inside the park and difficult to access. Staff at the ATV park, located about 75 miles northeast of Birmingham, had to escort medical personnel to the scene.
The sheriff’s office is leading the investigation into the accident with assistance from McDonald’s office.
Indian Mountain ATV Park says on its website that at just over 7 square miles in the Appalachian Mountain range, it’s one of the largest private off-road parks in the South.
A woman who answered the phone at the park on Sunday said officials were meeting with counsel and may release a statement later.
Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska.
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