PIEDMONT, Ala. (AP) — Two adults were killed and seven children injured in an accident at an all-terrain vehicle park in Alabama, authorities said.
An ATV carrying nine people collided with another vehicle Saturday, overturned and struck a tree at Indian Mountain ATV Park in Piedmont, Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency Director Shawn Rogers said in a statement.
The male driver was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. Four medical helicopters transported an adult female and three children to trauma centers in Birmingham. The woman later died from her injuries, the statement said.
Ambulances took the other four children to a hospital in Rome, Georgia.
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.
No identities have been released pending family notifications, the statement said. A news conference was planned later Sunday.
The accident site was in a remote location inside the park and difficult to access, officials said. Staff at the ATV park, located about 75 miles (121 kilometers) northeast of Birmingham, had to escort medical personnel to the scene.
No other information about the accident was immediately available. However, officials urged those using ATVs to operate them in a safe and responsible manner.
“Always wear your restraint system and never exceed the number of passengers your vehicle is designed for,” Rogers said in the statement.
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 (19 square kilometers) 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.
