David Jones set out for his daughter's wedding Friday night after Hurricane Helene rolled through where he lives in South Carolina.
Around 7:30 p.m., Jones left on what would normally be a 2-hour drive from Boiling Springs, SC, to Johnson City, TN, saying he wasn't aware of just how bad the storm had hit.
Jones told Today,
I had no idea that the roads were as bad as they were. There was no cell service, there's trees down everywhere, there's power lines in the road — it was just a mess.
When he reached the exit he needed to get off on, the roads were closed, and state troopers informed him that bridges on his route had been totally washed away.
When he asked an officer if he could continue his trip on foot, he was told no, but the loving dad just couldn't take no for an answer, telling the trooper,
I said, ‘Sir, you don't understand. My daughter is getting married at 11 o'clock, and I want be there to walk her down the aisle.'
Jones then began what he estimates as a 27-mile walk through storm debris and mud, using only his phone flashlight for light and carrying a red reflector that he found on the side of the road.
Eventually, another state trooper spotted him and Jones says,
"He rolled his window down and he said, ‘Are you the one that's trying to get to your daughter's wedding?' I said, ‘Yes, sir, how did you know?'" Jones recalls. "‘We're all talking about you,' he said."
The kind officer offered Jones a ride to the next town, and from there he continued his journey along the side of the highway until another driver stopped to offer him a ride. The driver happened to be a former coworker of Jones named Steve. Jones later said of the encounter,
I firmly believe that God or one of his angels woke Steve up and said, ‘David needs a ride the rest of the way home.'
David Jones finally made it to Johnson City, Tennessee, around 7:30 a.m., 12 hours after he first set out.
He was able to make it to his daughter's wedding on time and didn't clue her into his ordeal until after the ceremony saying that he didn't want to upset or distract her.
As a gift to his daughter and new son-in-law, Jones gave them the reflector that saw him through his all-night trek and told them the story of what he went through to make it there on time.
I brought the reflector to the reception, and I presented it to Elizabeth, my daughter, and Daniel just for them to remember, to be a protector and a good reflection of each other and a reflection of God.
Elizabeth was just grateful that her dad made it through the storm safely, saying of her dad,
He's a very special man, and he has very special love for us. He would go to the ends of the earth for us — come hell or high water — and he did that.
Here's the video from Today:
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