JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – What should have been a routine two-hour drive from South Carolina to Johnson City, Tennessee, for his daughter’s wedding turned into a nearly 13-hour ordeal for David Jones. Facing road closures, impassable conditions, and a desperate need to be there for his daughter, Jones embarked on a grueling journey on foot, determined not to miss the moment when he would walk her down the aisle.
Roadblocks and Detours:
|
Advertisement |
Jones set off on what was supposed to be a straightforward drive to attend his daughter Elizabeth Marquez’s wedding. However, Interstate 26 was severely impacted by Helene weather-related closures, and Jones found himself repeatedly diverted from his intended route. Around 2 a.m., after navigating detours for hours, he finally crossed into Tennessee, only to be informed by a state trooper that both major and minor roads were completely impassable.
But for Jones, giving up wasn’t an option.
“I said, ‘You have to understand. My daughter’s getting married at 11:00 this morning, and I’m going to be there to walk her down the aisle,’” Jones told Nexstar’s WJHL.
A Treacherous Journey:
Faced with no viable driving route and a rapidly approaching deadline, Jones made the decision to continue on foot. He estimated that his destination was less than 30 miles away. Though physically fit from his marathon experience, Jones soon realized that the trek would be far more hazardous than he anticipated. With only the light from his cell phone to guide him, he found himself navigating through pitch-black darkness, mounds of debris, and treacherous conditions.
“It just… it’s awful,” Jones explained. “I had to climb six, seven-foot-tall piles of debris—old fences, huge trees, and tangled messes. It was dead-end roads and all kinds of things.”
At one point, his journey nearly turned deadly. While crossing a road being cleared by a backhoe, Jones, who wasn’t expected in the area, was almost struck by the machinery. Entrapped in thick mud up to his knees, he found himself praying for his life as the backhoe operator, facing the opposite direction, swung the heavy equipment perilously close to him.
“I was up to my knees in mud and couldn’t move,” Jones recalled. “He doesn’t see me. Most of the time, he’s swinging this thing around, and I’m ducking. I really thought, ‘This could be it.’ There was a lot of prayer at that point.”
Fortunately, Jones managed to free himself just in time, although he briefly lost a shoe in the mud, which he later retrieved before continuing his journey.
Help from an Unexpected Source:
Jones crossed the river using the Jackson Love Highway bridge and walked through the town of Erwin, still determined to make it to the wedding. As he trekked down Interstate 26, he carried a reflective stake to avoid being hit by passing cars. Miraculously, a motorist he recognized from a previous job spotted him and offered him a ride for the final eight miles of the journey.
Thanks to this unexpected stroke of luck, Jones arrived at his daughter’s wedding on time, just as he had promised.
A Moving Reunion:
Elizabeth Marquez had no idea what her father had endured to make it to her wedding until the reception, where Jones recounted his incredible journey. The story left an emotional impact on everyone present, especially his daughter.
“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,” Elizabeth told WJHL.
In a touching moment at the reception, Jones presented his daughter and her new husband with the reflective stake he had used on his journey, symbolizing the lengths he was willing to go to protect and support her.
“I brought the reflector to the reception, and I presented it to Elizabeth and Daniel just for them to remember—to be a protector, to be a good reflection of each other, and a reflection of God,” said an emotional Jones.
Humility in Heroism:
Despite his harrowing journey, Jones downplayed his actions, insisting, “I’m no hero. It’s what any dad would do.” However, his daughter disagreed, overwhelmed with gratitude for her father’s determination and love.
“I woke up at 4:30 a.m. this morning just wide awake, spent that whole morning praising God that my dad made it and that my dad’s alive,” Elizabeth said.
DEVELOPING::