Georgia teen killed Saturday at Alabama’s High Falls

Authorities in DeKalb County, Ala., say an 18-year-old was killed after jumping from a cliff at High Falls Park near the town of Grove Oak.

Mason Tompkins, of Acworth, Ga., was a 2017 graduate and football player at Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga. He was expected to play football this fall at Berry College in Rome, Ga., according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Tompkins planned to major in political science, according to Berry College’s incoming football roster.

Saturday’s accident happened when Tompkins jumped from one of the rocky bluffs at the falls, DeKalb County Coroner Tom Wilson said Monday. Tompkins was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fatalities and serious injuries have happened before at the falls and surrounding rocks. Wilson said it had been several years since someone has been killed at the park.

Signs tell visitors to enjoy the county-owned park at their own risk, manager Charles Rowell said Monday.

Nothing prohibits people from jumping from the rocky bluffs that line Town Creek and the falls, but Rowell said the dangers are inherent.

“Any time you’ve got a high point of view and rock around you, it can be dangerous,” Rowell said.

Tompkins apparently jumped from a ledge but didn’t jump far enough outward to avoid hitting some rocks on the way down.

“It’s sad,” Rowell said.

A woman injured in April had to be airlifted out, he said.

“She was trying to get a better viewing place to see her son jump off and she fell,” Rowell said. He said the woman recovered from her injuries.

Though some parts of the park are dangerous, Rowell said it’s a good place for families.

“There’s a good place above the falls and a good place below the falls to swim,” he said. “We try to warn everybody we come in contact with to be careful.”

“Any time you’ve got a high point of view and rock around you, it can be dangerous.” — CHARLES ROWELL, HIGH FALLS PARK MANAGER