Flood waters in East Tennessee. (Photo: Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor)
As advocacy groups press Tennessee authorities for stronger worker protections and state agencies investigate the deaths of five employees swept away by Hurricane Helene floodwaters at an East Tennessee plastics plant, a lawsuit filed by the family of one deceased worker offers a glimpse into what happened on Sept. 27.
The lawsuit filed by the family of Johnny Peterson alleges that the “reckless and negligent conduct” of Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee prevented employees from escaping the factory before it was too late.
Peterson and other employees clung to the rails of a semi-trailer truck bed as the nearby Nolichucky River engulfed the industrial park and toppled telephone poles, according to the lawsuit. Overwhelming floodwaters and debris tipped the trailer and swept employees away. Peterson’s body was recovered days later.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration are now investigating the circumstances that led to the deaths of five Impact Plastics employees on Sept. 27. One employee remains missing. Five others were rescued via helicopter by the National Guard.
“Based on information we’ve uncovered, including accounts from surviving employees, we believe this tragedy could have been avoided,” the family’s attorneys stated. “Impact Plastics was aware of the flood risks, and while employees requested permission to leave, the company failed to act. We will hold them accountable.”
The company has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In a statement released Oct. 4, Impact Plastics President and CEO Gerald O’Connor stated that “employees were told to leave the plant at least 45 minutes before the gigantic force of the flood hit the industrial park.”
But the lawsuit, filed by Peterson’s daughter Alexa Peterson, contends O’Connor and the company “ignored every warning, putting lives in danger to fill an order.” Johnny Peterson was a “loving father” to Alexa and three other children, one of whom is a minor, according to the suit and Peterson’s attorneys.
The wrongful death lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages of at least $25 million.
An attorney representing O’Connor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tennessee for All, a coalition of advocacy organizations, has launched a petition calling for Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee lawmakers to strengthen worker safety protections.
“Sadly, this is just the latest example of corporate profits being put ahead of people in Tennessee,” coalition member Kermit Moore, the board chair of the Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute, said in a news release. “We’ve seen far too many workers die or be injured, or die while at work.”
Texts, emails in lawsuit contest Impact Plastics’ timeline
The lawsuit states that Impact Plastics leadership knew that the industrial park lies in a flood plain, but despite the closure of public buildings and schools in Unicoi County and another business in the industrial park in advance of the storm, decided to have employees report to work anyway.
Workers were instructed to “please make sure Friday when you leave to turn off your computers since the power will be down over the weekend,” according to an email received by Johnny Peterson.
The lawsuit also states that despite Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements for businesses with 10 or more employees to maintain an Emergency Action Plan for emergencies such as flooding, no such plan was reviewed with employees.
A preliminary internal review by Impact Plastics stated that public warnings about flooding were sent out at 10:40 a.m. on Sept. 27, coinciding with a power outage at the factory. The company stated that the plant shut down “within minutes” of the power outage and employees were told to leave the property “no later than 10:50 a.m.”
Flood warnings came in hours before the factory lost power on Sept. 27 and workers asked to leave multiple times before management ultimately closed the plant, the lawsuit states. Johnny Peterson sent his daughter and father multiple pictures and videos as floodwaters rose.
The report states senior management, including O’Connor, were the “last to leave” the plant around 11:35 a.m., noting that video footage recovered later shows several employees stayed on South Industrial Drive — the only road in and out of the industrial park — for about 45 minutes after the plant shut down. Peterson, a floor manager, was not part of the “senior management” group O’Connor referenced, attorney Zachary Lawson said.
While Impact Plastics’ review stated the road “appears to have been passable” when employees were dismissed, photos captured by employees and included in the lawsuit show water reaching car undercarriages — “too high to allow vehicles to be safely operated,” according to the lawsuit.
Employees arrived to the plant as early as 6:20 a.m. on Sept. 27, the lawsuit states.
The first flash flood warning for Erwin, Tennessee, was issued around 8:50 a.m., and another followed at 9:14 a.m. By 9:20, the warnings were upgraded to a flash flood emergency.
“These alerts were received by numerous employees at Impact Plastics at the time, including Impact Plastics senior management and Defendant O’Connor, none of whom took any action,” the lawsuit states. Employees who asked to leave were not given permission.
Around 10 a.m., employees were told to move their vehicles as the parking lot filled with water. At 10:51 a.m., Alexa Peterson texted her father to ask if the plant was shutting down for the day. “They better,” he replied, because “O’Connor and senior management had not dismissed employees from the job by 10:51 a.m.”
Employees realized they were trapped around 11:12 a.m., as stated in a text from Johnny Peterson to his father. Peterson understood that employees were dismissed from work around 11:35 a.m. when senior management “stealthily exited the building out of the back door,” the lawsuit states.
Employees struggled to leave the area for the next two hours.
At 1:17 p.m., holding onto an 18-wheeler amid raging floodwaters, Johnny Peterson texted his daughter for the last time: “I love you allllll.”
At 1:27 p.m., when his father texted to ask if Johnny Peterson was OK, he replied “Not for Long.” It was the last text he ever sent.