Bicyclist fatality in Cades Cove


TOWNSEND, TN - Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers responded to a report of a bicycle accident in Cades Cove at 10:58 a.m. on Sunday, August 16. The cyclist, 60-year old Harold D. Pardue from Elkin, NC suffered severe head trauma and was unconscious following the single-bicycle accident. He passed away as a result of these injuries on Monday, August 17. Pardue was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident which occurred on a downhill section of the Cades Cove Loop Road.

Park rangers provided critical care at the scene of the accident for approximately 30 minutes before American Medical Response (AMR) emergency responders transported Pardue by ambulance to a landing zone where he was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center by Mountain Area Medical Airlift. No additional details are available at this time.

Published August 18, 2020