Dad treks 40 km through Hurricane Helene debris to walk daughter down aisle

A wished dada from South Carolina wasn’t astir to fto Hurricane Helene extremity him from stepping his girl down nan aisle, truthful he hitched rides and trekked complete 20 kilometres connected ft done debris and flooded roads to be her wedding.

David Jones told nan unthinkable communicative to section broadcaster WJHL and People magazine, recounting really what should person been a two-hour thrust to his daughter’s wedding venue turned into a 13-hour odyssey.

Jones started nan travel successful Boiling Springs, S.C. The destination was a religion successful Johnson City, Tenn. — astir 160 kilometres distant — wherever his girl Elizabeth Marquez sewage joined connected Saturday.

Jones sewage successful his car Friday evening and began nan drive. He was diverted aggregate times connected Interstate 26 owed to dense flooding from Hurricane Helene, but aft astir 7 hours down nan wheel, he made it to nan Tennessee border.

At that point, it was 2 a.m. nan adjacent time and a authorities trooper told Jones that he had reached nan extremity of nan road. The remainder of Interstate 26 was impassible, nan constabulary serviceman told him, and insignificant roads were besides blocked.

“You person to understand. My daughter’s getting joined astatine 11:00 this morning, and I’m going to beryllium location to locomotion her down nan aisle,” Jones recalls telling nan trooper.

With only astir 40 kilometres near successful his journey, Jones decided to do nan remainder of nan travel connected foot. He parked his car astatine nan bottommost of an exit ramp and started walking.

He utilized his telephone flashlight arsenic nan only ray to guideline him done dense debris, knocked loose by nan Category 4 storm. But nan erstwhile marathon runner couldn’t person anticipated nan grade of nan demolition caused by Hurricane Helene. He told WJHL and People that he had to sometimes climb complete two-metre-tall mounds of debris successful full darkness.

“It was transportation black, nary streetlights, nary nothing. The devastation was beyond description, sections of roads washed out,” he said. “And I tin show you a batch astir nan mud and nan debris fields wherever I person to climb six, seven-foot-tall piles of debris of aged fences and immense trees and it was conscionable a tangled messiness and dead-end roads and each kinds of things.”

Along nan way, respective authorities troopers he encountered told him to move back. But Jones wouldn’t return nary for an answer.

At astir 3 a.m., he came crossed a bulldozer and a backhoe clearing nan roadworthy of hurricane debris.

“I thought I would effort and spell astir it, and I stepped down into mud that was for illustration quicksand and I was quickly up to my knees,” he said.

The backhoe usability didn’t spot him stuck successful nan mud and astir deed Jones. Thankfully, he was capable to free himself, though he mislaid a footwear successful nan process, which he went backmost afterwards to retrieve.

“I knew I couldn’t make it without shoes,” he said.

Eventually he made it to Erwin, Tenn., wherever nan roads were much clear and cars were capable to drive.

“A authorities trooper pulled up alongside of maine and rolled his model down and said, ‘Sir, are you nan 1 that’s trying to get to your daughter’s wedding?’ I chuckled and said, ‘Yes, sir, I am.'” Jones recalled.

The serviceman offered to springiness him a thrust to downtown Erwin, which Jones accepted, but aft that, it was backmost to trekking connected foot.

Along nan way, Jones carried a reddish reflective liking to debar being deed by cars.

As he continued stepping to Johnson City, different car pulled up beside him that conscionable truthful happened to beryllium driven by a man Jones utilized to activity pinch astatine Texas Instruments.

The erstwhile co-worker drove him nan remaining 12 kilometres to Johnson City.

“In all, it was conscionable awkward of 27 miles — 10 miles by car and 17 by foot,” Jones said.

Jones changed into a spare suit, freshened up, and made it to St. Mary’s Church successful clip to locomotion his girl Marquez down nan aisle.

“It meant nan world,” he says. “Every dada wants to locomotion his daughters down nan aisle.”

There was nary powerfulness astatine nan church, truthful nan ceremonial was conducted by candlelight. At nan reception, Jones presented his girl and son-in-law pinch nan reflector he carried connected his journey.

“I told nan communicative of nan 27 miles and really if location was immoderate way, I was going to find it. Lots of tears were shed by maine and others,” he says. “I said, ‘I want you to support this reflector arsenic a reminder to ever protect each other, moreover successful your darkest hours. That’s erstwhile it’s needed nan most, arsenic it did for me, and for you some to proceed to beryllium a reflection of God’s goodness, because you are specified bully people.’”

Marquez told WJHL that she was touched by her dad’s dedication.

“That’s truthful emotionally moving (to know) that my dada loves maine that much, that he’ll travel and spell done each of that to get to my wedding and beryllium location connected time,” she said.

Jones, meanwhile, said he’s nary leader and conscionable did “what immoderate dada would do.”