Norman UTV Accident Claims Lives Of 2 Brothers, Ages 2 And 8 Months

A 2-year-old boy who was placed on life support following a UTV accident Sunday, died on Tuesday.

“He's tough--the toughest kid I know. He’s hanging on but we just don’t know if it's enough,” said RJ’s uncle, Dylan Clark.

RJ’s 8-month-old brother also died. Now their family is struggling with how an innocent night of fun turned into such a tragedy. “They were going through what is designated on their map as a safe zone in the river,” said Clark.

“Both of these juveniles were in a five-point harness, approved car seats, and were buckled in securely,” said Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Trooper Preston Cox.            

Sunday afternoon, at Happyland ATV Park, 8-month-old Legend, his 2-year-old brother RJ, and two of their siblings were on a UTV with their mother and her fiancé.

“Nobody was drinking, no one was rowdy, they were just having a good time as a family,” said Clark.

“Everything is showing this is a tragic accident,” said Cox.

Initially splashing through several inches of water the river bottom suddenly dropped. “The current took them in, it was a matter of a couple of seconds, and they were all underwater,” said Clark.

Able to break free of their seatbelts, two children were rushed to shore—as their mother and family members desperately tried to locate the swallowed-up UTV.

“It was just muddy dirty water, you couldn’t see anything,” said Clark.

Strangers jumped in. “Every adult was more than willing to lose their life to save those babies,” said Clark.

After 20 minutes, the UTV was pulled out. The children were still in their car seats. “They got the two babies cut out and they were both rushed to the hospital,” said Clark.           

“You could never prepare yourself for something like this,” said Clark.

With Legend gone, and RJ clinging to life the family can’t help but question why. “A lot of anger, a lot of confusion [...] They advertised it as a family fun place,” said Clark.

The park’s owner issued a statement to Facebook expressing her deepest condolences and announced Happyland's permanent closure.

Saying in part, "Happyland was intended to be a place for families to create happy memories together. Please pray for the family, grief is rough because it never really goes away."

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Related Coverage: 8-Month-Old & 2-Year-Old Dead After Norman UTV Crash