NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The family of a Tennessee employee who was killed by catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Helene has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company he worked for, arguing that workers were forced to stay at their posts even when managers knew conditions were becoming dangerous.
Johnny Peterson was among the Impact Plastics employees who died Sept. 27 after Helene’s flooding hit Erwin, a small, rural town in eastern Tennessee. Many of the surviving employees have stated they were not allowed to leave the plant in time to avoid the storm’s impact. Instead, it wasn’t until water had flooded the plant’s parking lot and the power went out that managers sent workers home.
The raging waters swept 11 people away and only five were rescued. Two of them are confirmed dead and are part of a toll across six states that is nearly 250 dead. Four others from the factory are still missing after they were washed away in Erwin, where dozens of people about a mile away were also rescued off the roof of a hospital.
“Based on information we’ve uncovered, including accounts from surviving employees, we believe this tragedy could have been avoided,” Alex Little, an attorney representing Peterson’s family, said in a statement. “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 suit, filed Monday, names Impact Plastics and company owner Gerald O’Connor as defendants. O’Connor’s attorney did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Tuesday.
The 28-page suit argues that Impact Plastics had no required plan to safely evacuate employees even though the plant was located in a flood plain and regularly experienced water creeping into its parking lot. Furthermore, the suit claims that while local schools and other businesses announced closures because of Hurricane Helene, Impact Plastics instructed its employees to report to work because the company “wanted to meet order deadlines.”
The suit also provides a sobering breakdown of Peterson’s final moments with his family, including text messages revealing his fears that he would not escape the flood waters.
Just hours prior, the lawsuit says employees began receiving notifications around 10 a.m. urging all who could to evacuate to higher ground. At around 10:30 a.m., employees were instructed to move their cars because the parking lot was flooding.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that senior management, including O’Connor, had “stealthily exited the building” around 11:35 a.m. and employees believed they were dismissed from work. Peterson, who had stepped outside, went back into the building to help employees “trapped inside” but eventually became trapped himself after the water made it impossible to leave by car.
Peterson managed to climb onto a bed of a semi-trailer attempting to escape the area.
“Johnny knew he could not survive much longer as the water levels continued to swell and pummel the semi-trailer. He texted his daughter for the last time at 1:17 p.m. ‘I love you allllll,’ he managed to type out. This was the last text Alexa Peterson received from her father,” the lawsuit stated.
“Johnny’s father tried in desperation to reach emergency services but could not. At 1:27 p.m., he asked his son ‘You ok,’ to which his son responded ‘Not for Long.’ This was the last text Johnny sent to anyone,” the lawsuit continued.
The lawsuit comes after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced earlier this month that it was investigating allegations involving Impact Plastics at the direction of the local prosecutor. The state’s workplace safety office has also opened its own probe into the circumstances behind the deaths.
Impact Plastics has maintained that it monitored weather conditions on Sept. 27 and that managers dismissed employees “when water began to cover the parking lot and the adjacent service road, and the plant lost power.”
Meanwhile, O’Connor has said no employees were forced to keep working and they were evacuated at least 45 minutes before the massive force of the flood hit the industrial park.
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Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise contributed to this report.
Kimberlee Kruesi, The Associated Press