A car crashed along Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge after driving around road-closed signs, first responders said on social media.

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.

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A driver has died after going around a barricade on a hurricane-damaged North Carolina highway that became a symbol of Helene’s destruction, then driving off the roadway, officials said.

The highway has been shut down since Hurricane Helene's floodwaters swept away extensive sections along the Pigeon River.