GOLDEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says the mother killed in the ORV area at Silver Lake State Park sand dunes over the Memorial Day weekend was the first person on foot to be hit and killed by a vehicle.

“We really haven’t had any other similar incidents here like that where a pedestrian or an onlooker that was not in a vehicle was struck,” said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division. “We have had some deaths that occurred and some severe injuries from one unit striking another or someone operating and losing control and overturning their unit and causing them harm.”

Olson said crashes on the dunes, including fender benders, range between 80 to sometimes over 100 incidents each year. Cases of death and severe injury are rare.

“A lot of it gets back to how someone operates and whether or not they’re staying within control of speed and not being reckless,” Olson said.

The dunes at Silver Lake offer a 450-acre designated riding area for ORVs. It attracts 300,000 riders and passengers annually, as the state park is one of few across the country that offers an experience like it.

The dunes don’t have speed limits, but drivers are expected to follow a set of rules and regulations, including a key one that states an individual “shall not operate an ORV at a rate of speed greater than is reasonable and proper, or in a careless manner, having due regard for conditions then existing.”

As the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office investigates 33-year-old Kadie L. Price’s death, investigators will have to determine what led up to the 64-year-old driver losing control and hitting her Sunday.

Price and her family were standing outside their vehicle watching others race in an area that’s become known as the drag strip.

“There’s an area called the test and tune area, which is a relatively flat area that’s kind of groomed, meaning they drag the sand and smooth it out and people are able to test and tune their units where they can go from one point to another,” Olson explained. “In the test and tune area, it’s pretty much a straight line from point A to B, but in a case of if someone gets going excessive speed, they could lose control and therefore become careless and create a problem.”

Investigators said the driver of a modified Jeep lost control while racing and it veered into a crowd of spectators. The Jeep hit Price’s vehicle, which hit her. She was able to push her 2-year-old daughter to safety before the crash.

There is no rule that states people must stay in their vehicles while in the ORV area, nor is there any rule about people staying away from vehicles that are in operation. Olson said there are varying opinions about what should and shouldn’t be allowed on the dunes.

“Rules are in place to protect people’s safety both ways,” he said. “We have some people that feel very strongly about, ‘Let us ride and do whatever we want, not have regulation,’ but we certainly can’t do that.”

In 2021, however, Olson said there was discussion about whether or not the dunes fell under a statute that makes drag racing illegal in public areas. Ultimately, lawmakers passed a bill making it exempt from that law.

“It’s intended to be fun atmosphere where people can enjoy themselves without being overregulated but we want to regulate it enough so the atmosphere is safe,” Olson said.

It’s up to everyone on the dunes, he added, to help keep it that way.

“Extreme behaviors really are things that don’t belong because anything extreme, the risk of something going wrong escalates. In a public place like this, this is not the place to test out extremes.”

Once the sheriff’s office concludes its investigation, Olson said the DNR will evaluate and determine whether the behavior of the operator was outside of the rules already in place.

“We do have a good set of rules that have been tested the test of time and things like that so we’ll just wait and see,” he said.

Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon told News 8 Tuesday that the incident is still under investigation and that officials are not identifying the driver of the vehicle until they determine whether or not there will be criminal charges.