Marcus Ragland Obituary, Death; – A family in Rome is mourning following a tragic ATV accident in Cherokee County, Alabama, which resulted in the deaths of two parents and left seven children hospitalized.

Family members have identified one of the deceased as 34-year-old Marcus Ragland, a father of ten. They also confirmed that his girlfriend, the mother of two of his children, succumbed to her injuries.

Audrey Dunn, who shares two children with Ragland and is expecting another, mentioned that he had picked up her 1-year-old and 5-year-old for the holiday weekend.

“I don’t even know how to feel,” Dunn expressed.

She recounted to FOX 5 how she discovered the tragic news in the most painful manner.

“I got on Facebook and that’s when I saw that he had passed,” Dunn stated. “And I couldn’t locate my kids, as they were involved in the accident.”
The Cherokee County Alabama Emergency Management Agency reported that nine individuals were riding together on a side-by-side ATV at Indian Mountain ATV Park when it collided with another vehicle. The ATV subsequently overturned and crashed into a tree.

Authorities indicated that the driver died at the scene, with Ragland’s family confirming his identity as the driver. Emergency responders dispatched four helicopters to transport the female passenger and three of the children to a hospital in Birmingham. Four others were taken by ambulance to Atrium Health Floyd in Rome.

Family members later reported that Ragland’s girlfriend passed away at the hospital. Fortunately, all seven children survived. Four of them have since been released from the hospital, including Dunn’s two children.

“My 1-year-old is limping, and his face is badly scratched, [my other son] has a gash on the top of his head, but he’s alright, so thank God the babies are safe,” Dunn remarked.

According to the family, three other children remain hospitalized in Birmingham. The family has established a GoFundMe campaign to assist the surviving children and those who are caring for them.
Cherokee County, AL officials have stated that none of the passengers were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. The rules at Indian Mountain ATV Park specify that “everyone must wear their seat belt/safety harness at all times while in the vehicle.”