WAYNESVILLE, N.C. — A tragic incident has occurred involving a motorist who lost her life after bypassing a barricade on a North Carolina highway severely affected by Hurricane Helene. Officials reported that the driver veered off the roadway, which had become emblematic of the destruction caused by the storm.

Images of Interstate 40, where significant portions of the road were eroded near the Tennessee state line, drew significant attention following the hurricane, as many routes were rendered impassable by closures.

Emergency responders from both Tennessee and North Carolina were dispatched after reports surfaced of a vehicle accident involving a car that plunged down an embankment on the eastbound side of I-40 on Saturday evening, as indicated in a statement from the Junaluska Community Volunteer Fire Department.

The rescue team descended the steep slope to reach the vehicle, which had overturned and came to rest approximately 100 feet from the roadway. In photographs taken at the scene, a firefighter can be seen attempting to access the damaged white car situated at the bottom of the rubble-strewn incline. The single occupant of the vehicle, identified as 63-year-old Patricia Mahoney from Southern Pines, North Carolina, was freed from the wreckage and subsequently transported to a nearby hospital.

Sadly, Mahoney succumbed to her injuries later that night, according to Sgt. Brandon Miller from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, which is currently investigating the incident. Reports indicate that she entered the highway around the 7-mile marker, traveling west in the eastbound lanes and ultimately leaving the road just before the 4-mile marker, where the pavement ended. An autopsy is planned to ascertain the exact cause of her death. There remains uncertainty regarding why she chose to circumvent the barricades, as remarked by Miller.

The highway has been nonoperational since late September, after floodwater from Hurricane Helene severely damaged the eastbound lanes in multiple stretches along the Pigeon River. However, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has indicated an intention to reopen one lane in each direction by the beginning of the new year.