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Two adults were killed and seven children were injured, including one as young as 1 year old, in an all-terrain vehicle crash over the weekend at an off-roading park in Alabama, authorities said. None of the occupants was wearing proper restraints or harnesses while riding in the vehicle, which crashed in a remote section of the park.

The side-by-side RZR, an ATV model, crowded with nine people, hit another ATV on Saturday, overturned and crashed into a tree at Indian Mountain ATV Park in Piedmont, Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency Director Shawn Rogers said during a news conference Sunday. 

The male driver was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver said it appears the deceased driver was operating the ATV at a high rate of speed when it hit the other vehicle, whose driver tried to avoid the collision.

Joint Press Conference Regarding Indian MTN ATV Accident

Both Rogers and Shaver were among the county officials who emphasized how important it is to adhere to relevant safety protocols in any vehicle, like wearing restraints and carrying the correct number of people, in the aftermath of the crash.

"This is a tragic accident and highlights the importance of operating RZRs and other recreational vehicles in a safe and responsible manner," Shaver said.

The sheriff's office is awaiting toxicology results to determine whether alcohol played a factor. It's illegal to possess alcohol outside municipalities in Cherokee County, which has been dry since the Prohibition era a century ago.

The location of the crash was remote, Cherokee County officials said, making it challenging to access for first responders and requiring staff at the ATV park to escort emergency crews to the site. 

Four medical helicopters took an adult female and three children to trauma centers in Birmingham. The woman later died from her injuries, officials said. Ambulances took the other four children to a hospital in Rome, Georgia.

Rogers said officials have been told not one of the nine in the ATV was harnessed or restrained.

"'I'm sure that it's not recommended to have nine people, especially young children, in a RZR not using safety harnesses," Shaver said.

"There's nothing that says that everybody that gets in a side-by-side has to restrained," Rogers 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."

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.

All the victims were from Georgia, according to McDonald.

"Scenes like this are always difficult, especially when they involve children," the coroner said in a statement. "Please do everything you can to ensure the safety of yourself and those around you."

No identities have been released pending family notifications. Rogers said officials did not know the medical status of any of the children or have updates on their conditions.

The two people in the other ATV were not injured and tried to render aid, Shaver said.

The accident site was in a remote location inside the park and was difficult to access. Staff at the ATV park, located about 75 miles northeast of Birmingham, had to escort medical personnel to the scene.

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 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.