Thirteen children lost their parents when they were killed in an accident in an off-road vehicle.
Marcus Ragland, a father-of-10, and Ashley Hawkins, a mother-of-three, were driving in an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) when it hit another vehicle in rural Alabama before rolling over and striking a tree.
The couple were from Rome, Georgia, and travelled to the Indian Mountain ATV Park, about 30 miles from their home, over the Labor Day weekend. Reports said the incident happened at about 4pm on Saturday.
Mr Ragland, 34, who was driving, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Ms Hawkins, 31, was taken to hospital by helicopter but later died.
Seven children who were travelling in the ATV were injured. Nobody in the second vehicle was hurt, according to a report issued by Paul McDonald. the Cherokee County coroner.
“This is just so hard to deal with. It’s just so hard,” Felecia Towers, Mr Ragland’s mother, told WANF TV.
Maya Boyett, a long-term friend of the couple said: “It’s tragic both of them are gone. They are both two good people, good to their kids, and I really hate that they’re gone now.”
Relatives of the couple, who had two children together, said Mr Ragland had a sense of adventure.
“He lived his life to the fullest,” said his oldest sister, Lakeisha Floyd.
“Whatever he wanted to do, that’s what he did. He said ‘life is for living’ and that’s what he did.
She said Ms Hawkins was “a very sweet soul, always was really, really sweet. I’ve never seen her in a bad mood, always smiling”.
Local media said the seven children have been left with a variety of injuries.
Mr Ragland’s 13-year-old son was the most severely injured, being left with a fractured skull.
A girl, aged ten, broke a collarbone, and a two-year-old suffered injuries to her spleen.
Andrew Jones, an Alabama legislator, said there were no regulations at the ATV park.
“There’s nothing that says that everybody that gets in a side-by-side has to be restrained,” he said.
“That’s one of those things that personal responsibility has to be taken to ensure your own safety and the safety of those that’s in your care.”