Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers responded to a report of man in cardiac distress near the Greenbrier Ranger Station at approximately 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9. Harold Thompson, 58, from Knoxville, Tenn., was hiking along the Injun Creek manway leading to the Grapeyard Ridge Trail with his brother when he experienced cardiac distress about one and half miles from the Greenbrier Ranger Station.
Thompson’s brother, an EMT, administered CPR along with park medics for about an hour. Emergency responders also used an automated external defibrillator (AED) on scene. Under consultation with the Park’s medical adviser from the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Thompson was pronounced dead at approximately 3 p.m.
Thompson was transported by the Gatlinburg Fire Department to LeConte Medical Center.
– National Park Service release
