Former Harrison High School Student Dies In Alabama: Report

KENNESAW, GA -- A former Harrison High School student was killed Saturday in a freak accident in an Alabama state park, Patch has learned. Eighteen-year-old Mason Tompkins of Acworth died when he jumped from a rock into a creek at High Falls, according to news reports.

Tomkins played football at Harrison, located at 4500 Due West Rd NW in Kennesaw. (To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Kennesaw Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Tompkins hit his head on his descent, witnesses told local media. Once in the water, he never came back up, they said. The incident occurred about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Harrison High School expressed condolences, posting on Twitter: "Hoya Nation is sending heartfelt prayers to the family of Mason Tompkins."

The waters can be treacherous at High Falls, an administrator said. Park Manager Charles Rowell told WHNT-TV: "You swim at you own risk here."

Rowell said youths need to know that the cliffs are not to be played with. "You just try to talk to them and tell them to be really careful, because it`s a dangerous game down there if you don`t know what you`re doing," he told WHNT.

Tompkins' body was recovered about two hours after he jumped, WAFF reports.

Former teammates of Tompkins gathered at their former high school this weekend and reminisced.

"He was just one of those guys that just brightens up your day," former teammate Trey Iorillo said, according to WAGA-TV. "He is nice to everyone. You could talk all day long about anything. He's one of the coolest guys I've ever met."

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