CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ala. — A newly obtained crash report details what led up to an ATV accident that killed two adults and injured seven children.
Marcus Ragland, 34, was killed in the crash at Indian Mountain ATV Park in Cherokee County, Alabama. Ashley Hawkins, 31, was later pronounced dead at UAB Hospital in Birmingham.
The report filed by sheriff’s deputies after the crash places much of the blame on the Rome, Georgia couple.
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The report says Ragland was driving a 2019 Polaris Razor at least 45 miles per hour on the wrong side of an ATV trail when another ATV tried to swerve out of the way. Hawkins and all seven children were also in the vehicle.
Ragland’s vehicle hit the front passenger side tire of the other vehicle, causing the crash to flip and crash into a tree.
The report says Ragland was thrown from the vehicle and killed, while everyone else was injured.
Witnesses reported to investigators that before they arrived, others came and removed a cooler of alcohol because they “could get in trouble.”
Investigators later found a bag of suspected fentanyl pills in the driver’s side door of Hawkins’ car.
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The report noted that investigators smelled marijuana, but it was too dark to locate anything. The owners of the ATV park later found marijuana near the crash site and reported it to authorities.
Four of the children were flown to the Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Georgia where they were released shortly after.
The other three were flown to a Birmingham hospital. There is no word on their current condition.
Family friend Monica Watkins told Channel 2’s Brittany Kleinpeter that she helped Hawkins raise her children.
“They keep asking for momma, and I don’t want to say because we haven’t told them about her yet,” Watkins said. “I have to be strong for these babies because I’m going to have to play the mother role.”
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