26-Year-Old Dies After Suffering Cardiac Arrest In Great Smoky Mountains

A 26-year-old Middle Tennessee man died after experiencing cardiac distress while visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park over the weekend.

On Saturday, officials confirm a man identified as Zachary Brown, of Portland, Tennessee, was located by park rangers Friday at around 2:00 p.m. along a road near Crib Gap, FOX 17 News reports via the Associated Press.

Brown was with his family standing beside the road when he experienced a cardiac event, the Park Service said in an official statement via the Associated Press. Rangers attempted to take life-saving measures until first responders arrived at the scene, officials said in the statement.

Brown was transported to a hospital located in the foothills of the park near Knoxville where he was later pronounced dead.

Crib Gap is a section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park that lies between Townsend, Tennessee and the North Carolina border. No additional details regarding Brown's death have been released as of Monday morning.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently increased recreational access and services through a phased approach during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local public health, according to its website. Park managers have implemented an Adaptive Operations Plan with five operational phases, which is designed to be adaptive to regional conditions by increasing or decreasing the scope of park operations as appropriate.

Each operational phase will include a two-week assessment period before moving on to the next phase.

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