Bengals fans traveling to game in Charlotte caught in Helene aftermath

2024-09-30 01:55:05

One of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Helene is North Carolina.Neighborhoods and businesses in the Asheville area are completely underwater and nearly all roads in and out of the region are washed out and closed.Countless people are trapped in their homes, with no way to reach out for help.With the Bengals in North Carolina this weekend, fans on the road found themselves caught in the storm’s path.Thankfully, those fans have found their way to safety.A Lebanon couple was headed to the game in Charlotte, stopping first to see friends in Knoxville. But just as they approached the section of interstate 40 that borders Tennessee and North Carolina, they realized most of the lanes were under water.”It was one of those moments that you had to do what you had to do,” Dan Hoff explained. “There was no road, no berm or no middle lane left, and the highway, and there was no way that I could stop in time.”Hoff and his wife, Laura, decided to race against the elements and use what little highway was left to get across.They narrowly made it.A mudslide brought that portion of the interstate crumbling into the water below.”Kind of crazy thinking that I was the last one to go across there before it went in.”The Hoff’s had no cell service and no where to go.They spent the night at a rest stop. Meanwhile, they had been reported missing. Onlookers thought their car hadn’t made it across.”They presumed we had gone in,” Hoff said.Thankfully, the couple was able to get in touch with loved ones to let them know they were okay.And, on Friday, they finally made it to their destination.These Bengals fans aren’t the only ones who found themselves at the center of a scary situation.”We were driving over downed power lines and under downed power lines,” explained Erin Spangler, a native of Pleasant Ridge, who says she and her husband were set to stay in Asheville for three days before they planned to head to Charlotte.But, the storm sent them on a terrifying detour. “The lines for the exit ramps were just miles long,” Spangler recalled. She says it was almost impossible to find an area nearby that hadn’t run out of food or gas.”We were so afraid we were going to run out of gas, because everybody was out of gas. “We finally got to get a meal, maybe, an hour ago for the first time since Thursday.”Both couples made it safely to their hotels in Charlotte. The Hoff’s are spending Sunday at the Bengal Jim and Friends tailgate. They say they’re grateful to be there, but it’s bittersweet.They say their hearts go out to all those touched by Helene.