Ragland, Marcus Death, Obituary; Fatal ATV Accident: Mother of Injured Child Talks About It

 Ragland, Marcus Death, Obituary; – Following the horrific ATV accident in Cherokee County, Alabama, which left seven children hospitalized and claimed the lives of two parents, a family in Rome is in grief.

One of the dead has been named by family as 34-year-old father of ten, Marcus Ragland. Additionally, they verified that his girlfriend, who was also the mother of two of his children, passed away from her wounds.

"He brought up my 1-year-old and 5-year-old for the holiday weekend," said Audrey Dunn, who has two children with Ragland and is expecting another.

Dunn said, "I do not even know how to feel."

She described to FOX 5 how she learned of the terrible news in the most agonizing way.

"I discovered that Dad had passed away when I went on Facebook," Dunn said. "And because my children were in the accident, I was unable to find them."

At Indian Mountain ATV Park, a side-by-side ATV carrying nine people collided with another vehicle, according to the Cherokee County Alabama Emergency Management Agency. After then, the ATV flipped over and struck a tree.

Ragland's family verified that he was the driver, and authorities said that the driver passed away at the site. Four helicopters were sent by emergency personnel to take the female traveler and three of the kids to a Birmingham hospital. Four more were sent to Atrium Health Floyd in Rome via ambulance.

Later, according to family members, Ragland's girlfriend died in the hospital. Luckily, none of the seven kids died. Dunn's two children are among the four who have now been discharged from the hospital.

"Thank God the infants are unharmed," Dunn said. "My other kid has a gash on the top of his head, and my 1-year-old is limping and has a badly scratched face, but he is okay."

The family claims that three more children are still in the Birmingham hospital. To help the children who are still alive and their caregivers, the family has started a GoFundMe campaign.

According to investigators in Cherokee County, Alabama, none of the passengers were using seat belts when the collision occurred. "Everyone must wear their seat belt/safety harness at all times while in the vehicle," according to the Indian Mountain ATV Park's guidelines.