All trails remained open at Chimney Rock Park today following the weekend death of a 2-year-old boy who fell from a cliff, a park official said this morning. Authorities continued to investigate the boy’s fall. He was identified as Giovani Chavez, of Spartanburg, S.C. The child’s parents, Bibiana and Arturo Chavez, were with him at the time he fell a hundred feet or more from the Skyline-Cliff Loop trail Saturday. The investigation had not determined the specific point from which the child fell, park Superintendent Adrienne Wallace said. Handrails, picket fencing and chains line sections of the trail, she said. The park describes the Skyline-Cliff Trail as having “sheer cliffs and breathtaking views.” The trail is noted as offering a moderately strenuous hike of one and one-half to two hours across cliffs and ledges. The trail also had warning signs that hikers should take safety precautions, Wallace said. The signs are printed in English and Spanish. Park staff learned about 10:30 a.m. that the child had fallen. Within a minute, trail walkers arrived at the scene to begin rescue efforts and summon additional help. Several emergency, fire and police crews responded, Wallace said. Two climbers rappelled down the cliff and began CPR and medical treatment on the boy. Crews were able to move the boy to an ambulance, and he was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The rescue effort took about 90 minutes. Mary Jaeger-Gale, park general manager, said she was unaware of any other fatalities in the park’s recent history. North Carolina in 2007 acquired Chimney Rock Park from the Morse family, who had operated the private mountain attraction about 25 miles southeast of Asheville for 100 years. The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation now manages Chimney Rock Park as a part of the state parks system. The state has contracted with Chimney Rock Management to operate the park as it was run by the Morse family. In your voice
Read reactions to this story Newest first Oldest first hikercamper wrote: Carelessness, disregard for safety, child death... criminal action. 5/26/2008 10:39:07 AM Carelessness, disregard for safety, child death... criminal action. hikercamper Recommend New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse MaggieBoo wrote: I actually had a child leash when I was a kid. (I'm 52 now) I think most would see that as some sort of child abuse, but it sure helped my mom since I was a 'wanderer'. I would feel more comfortable in the mall and crowded places if my child were on a halter, and it certainly would have saved the day with these people. 5/26/2008 9:45:01 AM I actually had a child leash when I was a kid. (I'm 52 now) I think most would see that as some sort of child abuse, but it sure helped my mom since I was a 'wanderer'. I would feel more comfortable in the mall and crowded places if my child were on a halter, and it certainly would have saved the day with these people. MaggieBoo Recommend New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse theriversong wrote: I don't think the state can be held accountable for the "accident". Sadly this type of incident provides hindsight, the "leashes" for kids are not a bad idea. My heart goes out to the family, a vacation turned bad and one they will never forget. 5/26/2008 8:57:04 AM I don't think the state can be held accountable for the "accident". Sadly this type of incident provides hindsight, the "leashes" for kids are not a bad idea. My heart goes out to the family, a vacation turned bad and one they will never forget. theriversong Recommend New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse dwi7008441080404060331 wrote: well, now that the state owns the park, an accident happens. 5/26/2008 7:32:17 AM well, now that the state owns the park, an accident happens. dwi7008441080404060331 Recommend New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register {staffMark} {authorIcon} {authorHandle} wrote: {commentBody} {commentTimestamp} {commentBody} {authorNameHandle} {recommendLink} {newpostLink} {replylink} {reportAbuseLink} Report item as: (required) X Obscenity/vulgarity Hate speech Personal attack Advertising/Spam Copyright/Plagiarism Other Comment: (optional) Missing input fields. You must fill out the comment body in order to submit a comment. Comment too long. The comment you have entered is too long. Please limit your post to {maxchars} characters or less. Partners: Jobs: CareerBuilder.com Cars: Cars.com Apartments: Apartments.com Shopping: ShopLocal.com Home | News | Obituaries | Opinion | Nation/World | Sports | Outdoors | Living | Entertainment | Visit Asheville | Weeklies | Customer Service | Site Map Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Work for Us | Subscribe Copyright © 2008 CITIZEN-TIMES.com
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