Teens face trespassing charges after one falls from waterfall
A 19-year-old man seriously injured when he fell about 40 feet from a waterfall in northern Hall County could face trespassing charges, along with several other teens who were also on the private property when the accident happened on Monday.
Hall County Fire Chief David Kimbrell told the Gainesville Times that the man was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital after being rescued from Glade Shoals.
The newspaper reported Tuesday that the owners of the private, remote Glade Shoals are pressing trespassing charges against the teens who were on the property, which is along Flat Creek near the Brookton community.
John Vardeman, a spokesman for the property owners, told the Times that trespassing is a big problem, particularly during the summer.
"Pressing charges is to show how serious we are so people understand how dangerous the shoals are in that area," he said.
Vardeman told the newspaper that access to the shoals is blocked by a 300-foot-long chain-link fence along Ga. 52, and that there are large signs warning, "Danger. No Trespassing."
Kimbrell also said rescuers had to cut through gates and locks to access the area where the man had fallen. They used ropes to rescue him.
Vardeman said the property owners "extend deepest sympathies to the family of the young man involved in the accident." His condition was not available Tuesday morning.
Staff writer Chelsea Cook contributed to this article.
