A Southern Pines woman died Saturday after she drove around the barricades on a closed section of Interstate 40 near the North Carolina-Tennessee line, according to authorities.
According to North Carolina State Highway Patrol, 62-year-old Patricia Mahoney's car entered a section of road that had been closed to traffic because of storm damage from Hurricane Helene around 8 p.m. on Saturday evening.
"The car ended up stopping next to a piece of the road that had washed out, and was turned up sideways there," said Junaluska Fire Chief Charles Wood. "And that’s what prevented it going in the river."
Part of the interstate was washed away by Helene floodwaters from the Pigeon River, and barricades are posted to prevent drivers from going into the closed and damaged lanes.
Somehow, Mahoney got turned around and began traveling in the opposite direction and her vehicle fell through what authorities described as “gaping holes” in the highway and plunged into the Pigeon River Gorge.https://www.wral.com/story/southern-...line/21718106/Multiple agencies responded to the scene and extricated the woman from her car.
According to the Junaluska Community Volunteer Fire Department, emergency crews rappelled down the embankment to reach the car, which had settled about 100 feet from the roadway.
"It does take a toll on you, physically, for sure," Wood said.
Authorities airlifted Mahoney to a hospital in Tennessee, but she died from her injuries.
In a statement, Mahoney's son, Khale Unger said, “She was a loving, caring woman with two children that adored her, with friends around this country that miss her and adored her.”
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Originally Posted by marakisses
