David Jones was on his way to Johnson City, Tennessee , for his daughter’s wedding when traffic came to a screeching halt on Interstate 26. The reality hit him that he might not make it to his daughter’s big day. The highway was closed after Hurricane Helene’s record storm surge caused widespread destruction across the US southeast.
Jones asked a nearby state trooper if there was an alternate route to get to the city. “Nobody is getting to Johnson City,” the officer told him around 2am on September 28. Roads were closed, bridges had collapsed and debris was littered everywhere.
But Jones, 64, was not deterred..