Officials say a driver has died after going around a barricade on a hurricane-damaged North Carolina highway that became a symbol of Helene’s destruction

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.

A 63-year-old woman, Patricia Mahoney of Southern Pines, North Carolina, died after driving around a barricade and off a hurricane-damaged stretch of Interstate 40 that had been severely eroded by Hurricane Helene.