KNOXVILLE, Tenn — At Mead's Quarry in South Knoxville, thrill-seekers often ignore the signs to stay off a large rock that towers 15 to 20 feet above the shoreline. Now the county will solve the problem by pulverizing the stone.
Thursday night, a teenage boy drowned at the popular swimming hole. It's the first drowning at Mead's Quarry since it opened to the public for recreation about a decade ago. An emergency call just before 8:00 p.m. said the boy went beneath the surface and did not come back up.
The details of the drowning have not been released. But Friday morning, park leaders asked Knox County Public Works to remove the rock.
"It was a very tragic accident and [the teenager] lost his life," said Jim Snowden with Knox County Public Works. "We have the rock posted with signage, both here at the gate and on the rock itself, telling people not to climb on it and not to jump off it. Obviously, that's still occurring."
Snowden said next week the county will use a large track-hoe and rock hammer to smash the stone down to the shore.
"We'll chip that rock away until it is lowered to beach level where essentially that drop-off and ledge doesn't exist anymore and provide for the public safety," said Snowden.
If the weather cooperates, the demolition of the rock will likely take a couple of days. The stone will not have to be hauled away. The quarry along the shore is very deep and the rocks will fall into the water and sink without impeding the shore.
Warning signs are posted throughout the area warning people there is no lifeguard on duty and swim at your own risk. The signs also encourage people to use life jackets.
Thursday's drowning at Mead's Quarry was the first at the site since it opened to the public for recreation almost a decade ago. The last drowning to occur at Mead's Quarry was in 1996 when the property was mostly known as an illegal dumping site and no swimming was allowed.