Mowing Suspended at National Parks Following North Carolina Death

Cutting the grass at national parks has been suspended because of safety concerns following the death of a maintenance worker near Asheville, N.C.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that a National Park Service order to halt mowing at 397 parks nationwide took effect Monday.

The agency is reviewing safety procedures after 63-year-old Dana Bruce of Alexander died at the Haw Creek Overlook. His riding mower fell more than 140 feet down an embankment May 7.

Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators are reviewing the accident. A five-member National Park Service accident investigation team concluded its investigation Monday, but has not released its findings.

Government officials would not say how long the landscaping would be suspended.