Violent thunderstorms swept through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee on Thursday, toppling massive trees throughout the popular tourist spot and killing at least two people, including Ralph Frazier, 50, of Buford.

Frazier was the owner of Frazier’s Harley-Davidson on Friendship Road, which posted a notice about the accident on its website Friday.

“Ralph Jr. was killed late (Thursday) afternoon when a tree blew off the mountain during a storm and struck him while riding his motorcycle near Cades Cove on Little River Road,” the statement reads. “Ralph’s passenger is OK with an injury to her right leg, but is OK and back home.”

Frazier was a half-mile east of the popular Townsend Wye swimming hole when he was struck on the head by a falling limb, according to parks spokeswoman Melissa Cobern. He died at the scene.

The storms hit at the west end of the 500,000-acre park on the Tennessee-North Carolina line. Most of the damage appeared to be in the popular Cades Cove area of the park and in communities just outside the park boundaries.

Rachael Burkhart of Corryton, Tenn., also was killed in the storms at a popular swimming hole near the Abrams Creek Campground off the Cooper Road Trail. A falling tree struck her and also injured three others, including a 7-year-old girl who was swimming in the creek. She was unconscious when pulled from the water and given CPR by bystanders.

Her father also was struck, sustaining fractures to his vertebrae, multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung, Cobern said. The mother also was struck but has less serious injuries.

The girl and her father were flown to a hospital and the mother was taken by ground to a hospital. There were no updates on their conditions Friday afternoon.

 “There was a lot of rain, a lot of wind. A lot of people lost power,” said Sandy Headrick, a resident of the small town of Townsend on the edge of the park near Cades Cove.

Headrick, who has owned the Highland Manor Inn in Townsend for 30 years, said the storm was very unusual in that it blew out of the north and east. The wind usually comes out of the west, she said.

Power didn’t go out at the inn, and Headrick was able to put up people who had planned to go to the national park.

Although multiple injuries were reported in the park, Headrick said she believes everyone in the town is OK.

“Everyone’s out picking up branches and pulling tree limbs out of their pools. ... We got a lot of clean-up to do.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.