A man died April 18 after falling into waters along the Blue Ridge Parkway, according to an April 19 news release from the National Park Service.
The hiker, identified as Jie Huang, 40, of Plymouth, North Carolina, was hiking along the Boone Fork Trail near Price Lake at Milepost 297. At 2:57 p.m. April 18, parkway communications center received a report of a hiker who had fallen into waters adjacent to the trail, according to the news statement.
NPS law enforcement rangers and Watauga and Blowing Rock EMS responded to the scene, recovered the hiker, and performed CPR on Huang. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. A preliminary investigation indicates Huang died as a result of injuries sustained from his fall.
The Citizen Times reached out to park service for additional information.
A 70-year-old hike, Freddie Morgan Jr., of Concord, died Nov. 24, 2024, on the nearby Price Lake Trail, “due to a medical emergency.”
The parkway is one of the most visited units of the National Park Service, drawing more than 16.7 million visitors in 2024. After Tropical Storm Helene struck Western North Carolina in late September, much of the roadway in North Carolina has been closed due to severe damage.
The parkway is 469 miles long, straddling the North Carolina-Virginia border. The Price Park Lake and Boone Fork areas are about 85 miles northeast of Asheville on the parkway and about an hour-and-a-half drive.
More: Hiker dies along trail by the Blue Ridge Parkway in Blowing Rock
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Blue Ridge Parkway hiker dies after falling off trail NPS says