HAYWOOD COUNTY, N.C. â A driver decided to go around a "Road Closed" sign and concrete barriers on Interstate 40 and ended up driving off the road and into a large hole in western North Carolina Saturday night, according to the Junaluska Fire Department.
Unfortunately, the driver died from her injuries at the hospital Sunday morning. North Carolina State Highway Patrol identified her as 62-year-old Patricia Mahoney from Southern Pines, North Carolina.
Junaluska Fire Department and Grassy Fork Fire and Rescue crews had to set up an elaborate rope system to try to rescue Mahoney who was trapped in the car "very close to the Pigeon River." Her car had plummeted between 75 and 100 feet from the road.
"Cocke County Swiftwater Rescue responded also due to the potential of the vehicle being in the water," the JFD post on Facebook reads.
The crash caused multiple departments to respond, including crews from Haywood EMS, Priority Ambulance Service, North Carolina Highway Patrol, the North Carolina Department of Transportation and Rabbitskin Towing.
NCSHP said Mahoney exited at mile marker 7, which is where I-40 currently ends due to the damage Helene exacted to the interstate. Mahoney reportedly turned left and then turned right to get back onto I-40 going the wrong direction. The crash happened at mile marker 4.
According to Junaluska Fire Chief Charles Wood, Mahoney drove past "several barricades and blocked off areas." According to NCSHP, there are I-40 closure signs at mile markers 20, 15 and 7. Authorities did not see skid marks or tire marks at the scene, which JFD means there is no indication she tried to hit the brakes.
JFD emphasized the importance of not going around barriers.
"They're not there just to inconvenience you," JFD said. "They're there for your safety."
Authorities still don't know why Mahoney drove around those warnings.
That portion of eastbound I-40 near the Pigeon River Gorge was washed out by storm floods when Hurricane Helene hit the area, destroying numerous bridges and roads, including this portion of the interstate. It's been closed since late September.
When U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the area in early October, he said it will be months before crews are able to repair the stretch of Interstate 40 near the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
"I-40 is a clear priority," Buttigieg told WCNC Charlotte. "It's difficult to overstate how profound and widespread the damage is here."
A Google Maps alert states the road won't be reopened until September 2025, but NCDOT officials say there isn't an estimated time for when the highway will be fixed.
This incident is not the only time a driver has ignored warnings from officials about issues ahead on the road after Helene damaged it.
Gerton Fire and Rescue posted on Facebook on Nov. 5, saying the department "spent 2.5 hours in the rain backing a 40 foot camper and truck off Bearwallow mountain. He ignored all of the road closed signs and then became stuck. There is a tremendous amount of work going on and people who want to come see the devastation just slow down every one. Please stay out of the gorge."