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2 months ago
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A father from South Carolina's two-hour drive to his daughter's wedding turned into a treacherous 30-mile walk through flood debris left behind by Hurricane Helene.
David Jones traveled for five-and-a-half hours on foot after initially driving seven hours to escort his daughter Elizabeth Marquez down the aisle at her wedding in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Despite the obstacles, the marathon-running father was determined to make it to his daughter's wedding.
When state troopers on Interstate 26 told him around 2am that the rest of the way was unnavigable, Jones put on his running shoes and made the incredible journey over seven-to-ten feet piles of debris in total darkness.
David Jones walked five-and-a-half hours on foot after driving seven hours to walk his daughter Elizabeth Marquez down the aisle at her wedding in Johnson City, Tennessee
When state troopers on Interstate 26 told him around 2am the rest of the way was unnavigable, Jones put on his running shoes and made the incredible journey over seven-to-ten feet piles of debris in total darkness
Jones was at one point stuck in mud up to his knees and had a close encounter with a back hoe before getting back on Interstate 26 on foot with a reflective stake to avoid being hit by a car. PICTURED: Left to right David Jones, Ava Jones, Daniel Marquez and Elizabeth Marquez
Jones told WJHL one harrowing experience from that night while clean-up crews were removing debris with a back hoe.
'I was up to my knees and I couldn't move and he doesn't see me.
'His cab was facing the other way most of the time and he's swinging this thing around and I'm ducking and thinking this could be it.'
He was eventually able to free himself and got back onto Interstate 26, continuing to walk with a reflective stake so cars wouldn't hit him.
When Jones completed the 30-mile journey to the wedding, his daughter Elizabeth told WJHL that she had no idea the length her dad had gone to get there.
'That's so emotionally moving that my dad loves me so much that he would come and go through all of that just to get to my wedding.'
Jones walked her down the aisle and presented to the happy couple his trusty reflective stake that had got him through the night.
He hoped it would remind them to remain a positive reflection of each other.
The father said he was no hero and that any dad would do what he did - though Elizabeth was steadfast in her belief that Jones was a hero to her.
When Jones completed the 30 mile journey to the wedding, his daughter Elizabeth told WJHL that she had no idea the extent her dad had gone to get there
Jones walked her down the aisle and presented to the happy couple his trusty reflective stake that had got him through the night to remind them to remain a positive reflection of each other
The father said he was no hero and that any dad would do what he did - though Elizabeth was steadfast in her belief that Jones was a hero to her
Hurricane Helene highlighted the indominable human spirit that people have when it comes to their loved ones like Sam Perkins, 38, who set out on a perilous 11 mile trek to rescue his parents in the mountains of North Carolina.
The pair were trapped in the cut-off town of Asheville - Hurricane Helene's ground zero where 30 of the 121 hurricane deaths have occurred.
So dire is the scenario in Asheville now that survivors say bodies are 'stuck in trees'.
Perkins, determined to save his parents, told DailyMail.com he didn't think twice about making the journey.
'I did this because I have parents that have been amazing to me,' he told the DailyMail.com
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