Tennessee safety agency says workers killed in flooding were given time to evacuate
Workers at an East Tennessee plastics company who died in flooding from last year's Hurricane Helene had time to evacuate, albeit by 'makeshift routes,' according to an investigation from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration released on Wednesday.
'It was found that Impact Plastics, Inc. exercised reasonable diligence to dismiss employees and direct them to leave the site in this emergency situation,' the report concludes. 'As the deaths of Impact Plastics, Inc. employees are not work related, no citations are recommended.'
Six people died in the flooding
Five employees and one contractor who cleaned the offices once a week were killed on Sept. 27 after they were washed away by floodwaters. Attorneys for their surviving family members vehemently dispute the conclusion that they were dismissed from work with time to evacuate safely.
'TOSHA's report ignores the testimony of multiple witnesses, critical text messages, emergency alert logs, and photographic evidence that tell the real story about Impact Plastics' fatal failures," said attorney Alex Little, who represents the family of Johnny Peterson. "We're grateful that in America, juries — not bureaucrats citing unnamed sources — will decide the truth based on all the evidence.'
Peterson was one of 12 people who tried to escape the rising waters by climbing onto the bed of a semi-trailer loaded with giant spools of plastic piping that was parked outside the factory. When floodwaters eventually overwhelmed the truck, six people were able to use the piping for floatation and were later rescued. The other six drowned.
TOSHA notes that its investigation was hampered by 'phone service disruptions, language barriers, and other challenges.' It also says that the flooding destroyed the company's workplace safety records.
Attorney Luke Widener, who represents the family of contractor Sibrina Barnett and other victims, alleged in a statement that many safety records, including an emergency evacuation plan, never existed. He pointed out that workers at surrounding businesses in the industrial park were able to evacuate safely.
'While we agree with TOSHA's suggestion that Impact Plastics should improve its emergency plans, this comes far too late for our clients,' Widener said.
Employees escaped by 'makeshift routes'
The TOSHA report relies on the fact that a number of Impact Plastics employees did escape the flood, despite the fact that the one road in and out of the park was already covered in water by the time they began to evacuate. Some were able to escape by driving or walking over an embankment to a nearby highway after workers at a neighboring business dismantled a fence there. Others escaped by driving over a makeshift path onto nearby railroad tracks that an employee at a neighboring business created with a tractor. Still others were able to escape by walking to the railroad tracks, according to the report.
In response to questions about these makeshift escape routes, Chris Cannon, spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said in an email, 'Evacuation by auto was not the only feasible evacuation route." He added, "TOSHA would not be able to hold an employer accountable for road conditions.'
A statement for the company from attorney Stephen Ross Johnson says Impact Plastics welcomes the results of the TOSHA investigation
'Critically, and contrary to what was reported by some in the media, Tennessee OSHA 'found no evidence that employees were threatened with termination or forced to work beyond a safe evacuation point',' the statement reads.
In addition to the TOSHA, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been probing the six deaths. That investigation is ongoing.
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NBC News
03-04-2025
- NBC News
Deaths of Tennessee factory workers in Hurricane Helene flooding was 'not work-related,' state agency finds
Tennessee's workplace safety agency has absolved a plastics plant of responsibility in the deaths of six workers who were swept away by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene in September. The Sept. 27 deaths gained national attention when community members and relatives of the mostly Latino plant employees questioned why they hadn't been dismissed from work early enough to escape the record levels of rain that overcame the plastics factory in Erwin and take the only road out. The report from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) published Wednesday, said that because 'work operations had stopped and employees had left the building,' the deaths were not work-related and thus not within its jurisdiction. 'After considering the evidence," Chris Cannon, a spokesman with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said, "TOSHA determined that company management exercised reasonable diligence in dismissing employees and providing them sufficient time to leave the facility safely.' A criminal probe by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into the deaths is still underway, said Leslie Earhart, the bureau's spokesperson. Five employees and one contractor were killed when the semi-truck trailer they had sought refuge on was overtaken by raging floodwaters. They were Monica Hernandez-Corona, 44; Bertha Mendoza, 56; Johnny Peterson, 55; Lidia Verdugo Gastelum, 63; Rosa Maria Andrade Reynoso, 29; and Sibrina Barnett, 53. Six others were tossed from the truck bed and later rescued. Attorneys representing relatives of some of the deceased employees rejected the probe's conclusions. 'TOSHA's report ignores multiple witnesses' testimonies, critical text messages, emergency alert logs, and photographic evidence that tell the real story about Impact Plastics' fatal failures," Zack Lawson, an attorney representing Alexa Peterson, Johnny Peterson's daughter, in a wrongful death lawsuit against Impact Plastics. "We're grateful that in America, juries — not bureaucrats citing unnamed sources — will decide the truth based on all the evidence." Greg Coleman, an attorney for the Mendoza family, said they "vehemently disagree with any characterization that Impact Plastics exercised reasonable diligence in dismissing employees." The facts, he said, do not support a finding that the floodwaters were already too high and strong when the factory "finally, and begrudgingly, allowed workers to leave." While he agreed with a suggestion from the safety administration that the plant should improve its emergency plans, "this comes far too late for our clients." Relatives of the missing and dead factory employees, and those who survived, have alleged they were made to show up to work even as the hurricane was moving through the area. The day before the historic flood, the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee, issued several warnings of potential flooding for the rest of the week. The local school district canceled school, citing weather warnings, and at least one other company in the same industrial park as Impact Plastics, Foam Products Corp., closed their doors Friday. It was the first time their Erwin plant had ever closed for extreme weather. Impact Plastics, which manufactures components for cars, helicopters, furniture and other products, decided to open that Friday, as did several other nearby businesses. Through lawyers, Impact Plastics said in a statement Wednesday that it welcomed the results of TOSHA's investigation and that the company and its founder, Gerald O'Connor, have cooperated with it. 'Impact Plastics and Gerald O'Connor continue to concentrate on seeing to the needs of members of the Impact Plastics family and grieving over the wonderful people who were lost in the flood," the company stated. "Mr. O'Connor is focused on rebuilding Impact Plastics for the benefit of the employees, the customers, and the community.'
The Independent
03-04-2025
- The Independent
Tennessee safety agency says workers killed in flooding were given time to evacuate
Workers at an East Tennessee plastics company who died in flooding from last year's Hurricane Helene had time to evacuate, albeit by 'makeshift routes,' according to an investigation from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration released on Wednesday. 'It was found that Impact Plastics, Inc. exercised reasonable diligence to dismiss employees and direct them to leave the site in this emergency situation,' the report concludes. 'As the deaths of Impact Plastics, Inc. employees are not work related, no citations are recommended.' Six people died in the flooding Five employees and one contractor who cleaned the offices once a week were killed on Sept. 27 after they were washed away by floodwaters. Attorneys for their surviving family members vehemently dispute the conclusion that they were dismissed from work with time to evacuate safely. 'TOSHA's report ignores the testimony of multiple witnesses, critical text messages, emergency alert logs, and photographic evidence that tell the real story about Impact Plastics' fatal failures," said attorney Alex Little, who represents the family of Johnny Peterson. "We're grateful that in America, juries — not bureaucrats citing unnamed sources — will decide the truth based on all the evidence.' Peterson was one of 12 people who tried to escape the rising waters by climbing onto the bed of a semi-trailer loaded with giant spools of plastic piping that was parked outside the factory. When floodwaters eventually overwhelmed the truck, six people were able to use the piping for floatation and were later rescued. The other six drowned. TOSHA notes that its investigation was hampered by 'phone service disruptions, language barriers, and other challenges.' It also says that the flooding destroyed the company's workplace safety records. Attorney Luke Widener, who represents the family of contractor Sibrina Barnett and other victims, alleged in a statement that many safety records, including an emergency evacuation plan, never existed. He pointed out that workers at surrounding businesses in the industrial park were able to evacuate safely. 'While we agree with TOSHA's suggestion that Impact Plastics should improve its emergency plans, this comes far too late for our clients,' Widener said. Employees escaped by 'makeshift routes' The TOSHA report relies on the fact that a number of Impact Plastics employees did escape the flood, despite the fact that the one road in and out of the park was already covered in water by the time they began to evacuate. Some were able to escape by driving or walking over an embankment to a nearby highway after workers at a neighboring business dismantled a fence there. Others escaped by driving over a makeshift path onto nearby railroad tracks that an employee at a neighboring business created with a tractor. Still others were able to escape by walking to the railroad tracks, according to the report. In response to questions about these makeshift escape routes, Chris Cannon, spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said in an email, 'Evacuation by auto was not the only feasible evacuation route." He added, "TOSHA would not be able to hold an employer accountable for road conditions.' A statement for the company from attorney Stephen Ross Johnson says Impact Plastics welcomes the results of the TOSHA investigation 'Critically, and contrary to what was reported by some in the media, Tennessee OSHA 'found no evidence that employees were threatened with termination or forced to work beyond a safe evacuation point',' the statement reads. In addition to the TOSHA, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been probing the six deaths. That investigation is ongoing.
The Independent
03-04-2025
- The Independent
OSHA investigators says Tennessee company gave employees enough time to flee hurricane flooding. The workers disagree
Investigators in Tennessee say the management of plastics company gavve employees enough time to leave its facility before flooding from Hurricane Helene swept away workers and led to the deaths of six people. 'Investigators with Tennessee OSHA worked closely with law enforcement and conducted witness interviews, reviewed surveillance footage, and spent time at the Impact Plastics site,' Chris Cannon, the chief communications officer for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, told The Independent. 'After considering the evidence, TOSHA determined that company management exercised reasonable diligence in dismissing employees and providing them sufficient time to leave the facility safely,' he said. 'Because work operations had stopped and employees had left the building, TOSHA has concluded the tragic deaths of the Impact Plastics employees were not work-related and therefore do not fall within its jurisdiction.' Victims of the flooding blasted the report's findings and timeline, saying that eye witnesses would confirm it had been too late for employees to leave before the floodwaters struck. Flooding hit Tennessee and the Carolinas as Helene bore down on the mountainous regions of the Southeast. Many communities experienced historic flooding and pictures of the damage dominated the news. Impact Plastics became the focus of coverage after five employees and one contractor were killed in the storm. In a statement provided to The Independent, attorneys for and Impact Plastics, Inc., and its founder and Gerald O'Connor said that it welcomed the results of the investigation. 'Critically, and contrary to what was reported by some in the media, Tennessee OSHA 'found no evidence that employees were threatened with termination or forced to work beyond a safe evacuation point,'' they wrote. 'Impact Plastics and Gerald O'Connor continue to concentrate on seeing to the needs of members of the Impact Plastics family and grieving over the wonderful people who were lost in the flood. Mr. O'Connor is focused on rebuilding Impact Plastics for the benefit of the employees, the customers, and the community. Impact Plastics intends to continue to play a vital role in Erwin's flood recovery,' the lawyers said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said its own separate investigation remains ongoing. Impact Plastic's own preliminary review of the events of September 27 found that employees had been directed to leave the plant property 'no later than 10:50 a.m.' That's around 10 minutes after the plant lost power. O'Connor said that video footage and photos from that day showed missing employees had stayed on the road near its parking lot for 45 minutes after the plant closed. "To Impact Plastic's knowledge, no one was ever trapped in the building or on its premises," O'Connor said. In December, Impact Plastics and O'Connor were sued by the family of one of the employees who perished in the catastrophic flooding. The $25 million-dollar suit alleged that workers were forced to stay at their posts even after managers knew conditions were growing dangerous. Impact Plastics has denied claims it was responsible for the employee's death. "To the extent Impact Plastics' actions were in violation of the law, which Impact Plastics denies, Impact Plastics did not knowingly act in violation of the law, nor did Impact Plastics show reckless disregard for whether Impact Plastics was acting in violation of the law," it said. Some family members of employees who died did not cooperate with Tennessee OSHA's investigation, Knox News reported Wednesda. Attorneys representing former employees and their families told the publication that the report had left out witness testimonies and other evidence and criticized Impact Plastics' response. 'We vehemently disagree with any characterization that Impact Plastics exercised reasonable diligence in dismissing employees. The facts simply do not support such a finding, as flood waters were already too high and too strong when Impact Plastics finally, and begrudgingly, allowed workers to leave,' Luke Widener, an attorney who partners with Greg Coleman to represent Robby Jarvis and other former Impact Plastics employees or their families, said in a statement provided to The Independent on Thursday. 'Even so, by the time Impact Plastics finally communicated this, they failed to inform all employees. While workers at the surrounding businesses evacuated safely, Impact Plastics held its employees back, putting them in serious danger — which ultimately resulted in their injuries and deaths. While we agree with TOSHA's suggestion that Impact Plastics should improve its emergency plans, this comes far too late for our clients,' he said. In September, Jarvis told The Independent that people had 'lost their lives for no reason.' 'They put profit over our lives. That angers me,' Jarvis said.
