Determined dad walks 30 miles after Helene to walk daughter down aisle

A US man has made his case for all pending father of the year contests after reportedly walking 30 miles (48km) through flooding and debris inflicted by Hurricane Helene to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding in Tennessee.

David Jones’s determined trek took him through some of the areas most devastated by Helene after the powerful category 4 hurricane made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region and crossed much of the south-eastern US.

As the Tennessee news station WJHL told it, Jones drove his car seven hours from South Carolina and then put in another five and a half hours on foot before arriving at his daughter’s nuptials – a trip that normally would have been about a two-hour drive.

“You have to understand – my daughter’s getting married at 11 this morning, and I’m going to walk her down the aisle,” Jones recalled telling a Tennessee state trooper whom he encountered about nine hours before the ceremony.

WJHL reported that the trooper had told Jones he could not go further because the roads were impassable, including the major interstate providing the most direct route to the wedding in Johnson City, Tennessee. But Jones, who has prior experience running marathons, estimated he was within 30 miles of his destination. So he decided he could walk there, with only his cellphone light to illuminate his way.

The ensuing journey was, to say the least, precarious. He recounted to WJHL that he had to climb over or crawl under piles of debris as tall as 7ft, including fences and trees felled by Helene’s life-threatening flooding.

At one point, he became trapped in knee-deep mud and was almost run over by a backhoe being used by a crew to clear the roadway. Yet he managed to free himself in the nick of time, though he had to later work to retrieve a shoe that remained stuck in the mud, as WJHL reported.

“It was just a tangled mess,” said Jones, who carried a reflective stake to signal his presence to motorists passing by.

He walked through the town of Erwin, crossed the nearby Nolichucky river on the Jackson Love highway bridge and was walking on Interstate 26 when a motorist whom he knew through a previous job spotted him. The motorist stopped and gave Jones a ride for the final 8 miles of his impromptu expedition.

Government officials generally instruct most people to avoid navigating flooded areas. Perils often hiding in floodwaters include live electric wires, toxic sewage and sharp objects.

Nonetheless, by defying those instructions, Jones made it on time to see his daughter Elizabeth marry Daniel Marquez on Sunday, WJHL reported. He told the news outlet that he presented his reflector to the couple as a reminder for them to protect and be a “good reflection” of each other.

Elizabeth Marquez said to WJHL: “That’s so emotionally moving [to know] that my dad loves me that much, that he’ll come and go through all of that to get to my wedding and be there on time.”

In his dramatic interview with the news outlet, Jones maintained he only did “what any dad would do”.

Officials on Monday said Helene had killed more than 100 people – and left millions without power – as it ripped across a region including Tennessee. On Monday, Tennessee state authorities said flooding associated with Helene had destroyed five bridges and forced the closure of another five.

At least three people in Tennessee had died as a result of Helene, including in the Johnson City area, officials said. Authorities added that they were prepared for that toll to rise as emergency crews continued clearing the wreckage.

The Associated Press contributed reporting