JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) - What was expected to beryllium a two-hour thrust from South Carolina to Johnson City, Tennessee, for his daughter's wedding turned into 7 hours by car and different 5 and a fractional hours connected ft for David Jones.

After being diverted aggregate times connected Interstate 26, erstwhile helium yet crossed the authorities enactment into Tennessee astir 2 A.M., a authorities trooper told Jones that was the extremity of the road. Interstate and adjacent much insignificant roads were impassible. But this dada would not instrumentality nary for an answer.

I said, "You person to understand. My daughter's getting joined astatine 11:00 this morning, and I'm going to beryllium determination to locomotion her down the aisle," Jones told NewsNation affiliate WJHL.

Jones, who has tally marathons successful the past, estimated it was little than 30 miles away, truthful helium decided to walk. But it was overmuch much hard than helium could person imagined, arsenic helium recovered himself successful full acheronian with lone his compartment telephone airy to usher him done mounds of debris.

"It just... it's awful," Jones explained. "And I tin archer you a batch astir the mud and the debris fields wherever I person to ascent six, seven-foot-tall piles of debris of aged fences and immense trees and it was conscionable a tangled messiness and dead-end roads and each kinds of things."

Although so precarious, the trek astir became deadly astatine 1 constituent erstwhile helium encountered crews clearing the roadworthy with a backhoe. Admittedly, Jones wasn't expected to beryllium there, truthful the relation didn't spot him, and helium was astir hit. He became entrapped successful the mud.

"I was up to my knees successful mud and couldn't move," Jones recalls. "And helium doesn't spot me. Of course, his cab is facing the different way. Most of the time, he's swinging this happening around, and I'm ducking. Really, I'm reasoning this could beryllium it. There was a batch of supplication astatine that point."

Miraculously, Jones says helium was capable to escaped himself successful time, albeit without 1 footwear that helium had to retrieve afterward, and helium continued connected his way.

He was capable to transverse the stream implicit the Jackson Love road bridge. He walked done the municipality of Erwin and Jones yet got backmost connected Interstate 26 inactive connected foot.

To debar being deed by cars Jones carried a reflective stake.

A motorist, who Jones really knew from a erstwhile job, drove Jones the past 8 miles of his journey.

He made it to his girl Elizabeth's wedding connected time. She had nary thought what her dada had gone done to beryllium capable to locomotion her down the aisle until the reception.

"That's truthful emotionally moving [to know] that my dada loves maine that much, that he'll travel and spell done each of that to get to my wedding and beryllium determination connected time," Elizabeth Marquez told WJHL.

After the wedding, Jones presented his girl and her caller hubby with a token from his unthinkable journey—his reflective stake.

"I brought the reflector to the reception, and I presented it to Elizabeth, my daughter, and Daniel conscionable for them to remember, to beryllium a protector and a bully reflection of each different and a reflection of God," said an affectional Jones.

Jones said he's nary hero, "it's what immoderate dada would do," helium said.

Elizabeth disagrees and says she's "just truthful thankful helium made it."

"I woke up astatine 4:30 a.m. this greeting conscionable wide awake, conscionable spent that full greeting praising God that my dada made it and that my dad's alive," Marquez said.