Tristen Utter was nearly finished with his first delivery to North Carolina when he was caught in the disastrous and deadly remnants of Hurricane Helene, stranding him for days with no way to contact loved ones.
Utter, 27, of Kansas City, Missouri, a first-time National Carriers truck driver hauling beef to an Ingles distribution center in Black Mountain, had parked his truck Thursday night ahead of a 5 a.m. delivery Friday. He was sound asleep when he awoke at 3:30 a.m. Friday because winds were rocking his truck, fully loaded at 80,000 pounds, back and forth and he saw shopping carts flying through the air.
Helene devastated western North Carolina, causing landslides and catastrophic flooding. More than 150 were killed by the storm across the Southeast. The storm — one of the deadliest in U.S. history — wiped away entire communities. Hundreds remain missing in North Carolina. Many who survived the catastrophe were trapped due to closed — or missing — roads.
The next morning, Utter said he learned around 11:30 a.m. that I-40 and I-26 were closed because of the storm. About five minutes later, he said he saw reports about concerns of a dam breaking. He lost cell phone service just minutes after.
“I was just waiting to see if I was going to die or not,” he said.
Utter said he was planning to spend the night in his truck in the Ingles parking lot, but it was full when he arrived, so he stayed in another lot about a half-mile away. When he walked to the center Friday morning, he was shocked to see trucks flipped on their sides and that an electrical fire had broken out at the warehouse.
Photos and videos show extensive flooding at the center.
“Ingles Markets is devastated by the catastrophic damage from Helene,” the company said in a statement. “Unprecedented destruction and tragic loss of life have touched every town, city, community, and business. Our hometown Black Mountain, North Carolina, which houses our distribution center, was one of these areas. We had loss of power, critical infrastructure, transport vehicles, inventory, and yes, even loss of life.”
Utter said he was aware that Hurricane Helene was going to slam into Florida, but he did not expect such devastating weather from its remnants.
He spent days stuck in a Dollar General parking lot with about a dozen other drivers. Since he had been planning to be on the road for a month, he was stocked with food and water, which he shared with fellow drivers. Another driver also shared water with the group.
Utter said he was impressed with how community members and strangers alike rallied together. One driver’s load of food was about to go bad, so he opened his truck to share it with residents.
Hopey & Co., a grocery store in Black Mountain, opened its doors to give away everything for free.
“I met some really great people,” he said. “It was a terrible experience, but overall the community pulled together.”
Utter was able to leave Black Mountain on Monday after spending five days trapped due to road closures. He praised National Carriers for the company’s response – including a personal call from the company vice president – and how they reassured his family even when Utter didn’t have service to reach them.
“Just the way that they treated me and the way they have been with me through this ordeal has made me want to stay with them,” he said.