Stone Mountain Park Officials Consider Safety Effort After Fall

Stone Mountain Park officials say they’re considering extra safety measures after an accident and rescue operation.

Park police spokesman John Bankhead says a man, his 12-year-old son and two teenage boys were likely unaware that they were hiking in a restricted area of the Georgia park Tuesday when the teens slid about 200 feet down the mountain’s jagged, granite backside.

Bankhead says the part of the mountain the teens were hiking on was slick. Once the teens began sliding, they couldn’t stop until they fell into an area of quarried rock.

A 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man were seriously injured.

Bankhead says warning signs about the restricted area are routinely stolen from the backside of the mountain and officials will likely use painted lines there to warn visitors of danger.