Dad treks 30 miles in Helene damage to walk daughter down the aisle: 'Did what any dad' would do

One South Carolina father went above and beyond to make it to his daughter's wedding in time to walk her down the aisle after he trekked through 30 miles of storm damage left by Hurricane Helene. 

David Jones traveled from South Carolina to Tennessee to make it to his daughter Elizabeth's wedding in Johnson City, and he joined "Fox & Friends" to discuss the harrowing, unexpected journey. 

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"We weathered the storm in South Carolina," Jones told Ainsley Earhardt on Thursday. "I headed on up the road. My wife was going to follow me Saturday if the roads were clear. We had no cell service or no Internet, so we really didn't know the extent of the destruction."

The journey by car was originally only supposed to take two hours, but unfortunately, due to flooding and storm damage, Jones ultimately spent seven hours in the car and five and a half hours on foot. 

Jones told Fox News Digital he was diverted multiple times while traveling on Interstate 26 when he finally crossed the state line into Tennessee around 2 a.m. 

When he crossed into Tennessee, traffic was at a standstill, and the ramp was lined with cars and trucks while a group of Tennessee state troopers lined the roadway.

David Jones prepares for a first look with his daughter Elizabeth on her wedding day after traveling 30 miles to make it in time. (Ava Jones)

An officer told him that it was the end of the road and the roads were all washed out and impassable.

"After seven hours on the road, I was still about 30 miles from home and the state troopers were saying, 'Look, you can't go any further. The bridges are washed out.' I asked about the back roads. They said, ‘No, same thing there.’ And I said, ‘What about on foot?’ And they said, 'No, sir, we're not letting anybody out… you'll have to spend the night in your car,'" Jones said. 

But when the troopers got in their vehicles and left the scene, Jones knew he had to take action if he was going to make it on time. 

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"I decided… I'm going to do… what any other dad that would do… in this situation," he said. "I grabbed my backpack and a couple of days of underwear and socks and a windbreaker and my cell phone light and off I went."

To create more safety and visibility, he grabbed a reflector pole that was lying on the side of the road so any cars driving by could see him.

To add another twist to the journey, a motorist, who Jones said he knew from a previous job, saw him walking along the roadway and drove him the last eight miles to his destination.

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"I left plan A clothes in the car, and I wore plan B clothes at the wedding, and it worked out just fine," Jones said. "So in total, I was able to hitch rides for about 10 miles and hike and walk and climb and crawl for about 17."

Despite the severe weather and challenges in the aftermath of the storm, Jones said the guests that were planning on attending were able to come to the wedding. 

"It was a small wedding. Most people were local. There were some coming from the north… They didn't have much trouble, but also they didn't have cell phone or Internet either, so it was really… kind of operating in the dark, no pun intended," Jones said.

"Things went on. She got married by candlelight," he continued. "There was no power in the church."

Fox News' Stepheny Price contributed to this report. 

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