ERWIN, Tenn. — The family of a former Impact Plastics employee is suing the company for wrongful death, alleging the company's negligence directly resulted in his death.
Zack Lawson, with the Nashville-based Litson law firm, said the complaint is based out of Unicoi County and was filed on behalf of Johnny Peterson who worked at Impact Plastics. Peterson's daughter, Alexa Peterson, is listed as the plaintiff.
"What they (the family) care about is getting answers first, they want to know why this happened, how this happened, and who's responsible," Lawson said.
Lawson said the complaint alleges Peterson's death was preventable, Impact Plastics didn't have proper evacuation protocols in place, and that other businesses in the area chose to close on Sept. 27, but Impact Plastics stayed open to ensure orders could go out later that day.
He also said employees were never actually dismissed from work that day, and instead were only told they could move their cars while senior management left out a different exit to get to safety.
"We've had boots on the ground there, for a week now," Lawson told 10News last week. "Investigating and talking to witnesses, surviving employees. I think, through that what's become increasingly clear, is that the tragedy there was entirely preventable."
Impact Plastics is being investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration after the company said several of its employees disappeared or died in the flooding.
The 28-page complaint argues Impact Plastics is located in a flood plane and is required to have an evacuation plan in case of emergencies. According to the complaint, there was no emergency evacuation plan at Impact Plastics, and the company didn't review any type of emergency plan with employees for flooding.
It also said Impact Plastics remained open on Sept. 27, despite warnings about floods being possible in the area and closures of surrounding businesses. Unicoi County government offices also closed that day.
The complaint also argues that employees were sent an email on Sept. 25, two days before the flooding occurred, that said they needed to make sure their computers were powered down on Sept. 27 because power would likely go out at the plant around that time.
"Johnny and other employees were surprised and upset by the email and by the general expectation that they show up for work on Sept. 27, with Hurricane Helene fast approaching their county," the complaint said. "Impact Plastics chose to remain open on Sept. 27, 2024, because the company wanted to meet order deadlines."
The complaint also details a timeline of events on the day of the deadly flooding, alleging a Flash Flood Warning for Erwin went out at 8:50 a.m., and a second warning went out at 9:14 a.m.
"Impact Plastics senior management, including Defendant O’Connor, were aware of these alerts but took no action," the complaint said.
It also said the next hour and 15 minutes, employees were concerned for their lives.
At one point, the complaint said, employees were told to go move their cars, but they were not dismissed from work.
"At approximately 10:51 a.m., Plaintiff Alexa Peterson texted her father, Johnny, asking, 'Are they shutting it down for the day?' to which Johnny responded, 'they better.' Johnny responded in this fashion because Defendant O’Connor and senior management had not dismissed employees from the job by 10:51 a.m.," the complaint said.
For about another 45 minutes, the complaint said employees were afraid as they weren't able to exit the parking lot. The complaint alleges O'Connor, and other top management at the company, left out the back door of the factory, while employees were still trapped in the flooding parking lot.
By around 1 p.m., employees were still trapped in the floodwaters and Peterson sent a video to his father of him on top of a truck, submerged in the water. At around the same time, Peterson texted his daughter and said he was in the truck.
At 1:17 p.m., Peterson's daughter got a text that said, "I love you allllll."
At 1:27 p.m., Peterson's father texted him, asking, "You ok" and Peterson responded with the last text he sent to anyone — "Not for Long."
The complaint alleges negligence on behalf of Impact Plastics and O'Connor, negligence for not maintaining an emergency actin plan, and liability in Peterson's death.
Peterson's family is asking for damages of at least $25 million.
Response from Impact Plastics
10News called and left a message with attorneys representing Impact Plastics late Monday afternoon.
Attorneys representing Impact Plastics CEO Gerald O'Connor sent out a statement on Oct. 7. The statement said O'Connor is currently focusing on grieving the people lost in the floods, reviewing the timeline of events the day of the flooding and planning to rebuild Impact Plastics.
O'Connor released a video statement and preliminary review into the incident on Oct. 3.
In the video, O'Connor starts off by saying he and his family have been receiving death threats, adding, "We are as heartbroken as you are, about our loss and will keep those who have now passed in our hearts forever."
He said he ordered a review and timeline of what happened during the flooding.
"The findings are that the employees were told to leave the plant at least 45 minutes before the gigantic force of the flood hit the industrial park. There was time to escape," O'Connor said. "Employees were not told at any time that they would be fired if they left the plant."
O'Connor said that after checking to make sure that everyone was out of the plant and grabbing important files, he was one of the last to leave the plant and escape.
"To our knowledge, no one died while on company property," O'Connor said.
He said five employees from the factory were rescued with help from the National Guard.
You can watch the video below.
Impact Plastics wrote in its preliminary review that the morning of Sept. 27 started out as usual, and there were no flood alerts or warnings at the start.
"Written evacuation plans were posted in conspicuous areas of the plant many months prior to September 27, 2024," the preliminary review said.
According to the report, Impact Plastics is located off South Industrial Drive and is in a low-laying area prone to flooding. Often times, employees are asked to move their cars after heavy rain, the report said.
The report said water started to pool in the area at around 10:35 a.m. on Sept. 27. and public warnings were sent to people's cell phones at 10:40 a.m., after the power went out at 10:39 a.m.
The review continues by saying that a decision was made "within minutes of the power outage" to shut down and dismiss all employees, including supervisors.
"Employees were directed to leave the plant property within minutes of the power outage and certainly no later than 10:50 AM. Bilingual employees translated the announcement in Spanish. Senior management conducted a walkthrough of the facility and attempted to move the company's server and other important documents. They exited the building around 11:35 and were the last individuals to leave," the preliminary review said.
Current and missing employees left Impact Plastics' property but remained on South Industrial Drive for approximately 45 minutes after employees were dismissed, according to the review. The group of employees that remained on South Industrial Drive were either rescued or reported as missing or deceased, the review said.
"Review also indicates that when employees were dismissed as water was pooling in Impact Plastics' parking lot, but South Industrial Drive, in front of the plant appears to have been passable. The water pooled in the parking lot was approximately six inches deep as indicated by the water level shown at the bottom of small passenger cars parked at the time reviewed by the company. To Impact Plastics' knowledge, no one was ever trapped in the building or on its premises," the review states.
The review continues by saying the company is aware of allegations on social media that employees who asked to leave were told not to by their supervisors and that supervisors left before other plant employees were dismissed.
"The allegations are false. Impact did not prohibit its employees from leaving. It did not threaten anyone with discharge from employment. Its senior management were the last, not the first, to leave. Senior management was the last to leave approximately 45 minutes after the plant had been closed and all other employees had been dismissed. Impact Plastics made decisions based on the information available at the time," the review said.
The company ended the preliminary review with this statement:
"In times like these, words feel inadequate to express the depth of sorrow we are all feeling. The recent flood has devastated our plant and, more tragically, taken the lives of some of our dear colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and loved ones."
One employee still missing, five found dead
Peterson is one of six employees of Impact Plastics believed to have died in the flooding.
According to an obituary, Johnny Wayne Peterson, 55, died in the flooding. His obituary said he worked at Impact Plastics for more than 35 years, and that he's survived by his children, their mother and had a grandchild on the way.
"Johnny was very involved in the Unicoi County Football teams, and he loved cheering his son on at every game," his obituary said.
Donations to Pereson's family can be made to the Johnny Peterson Memorial Fund at the Clinchfield Credit Union 1038 N Main Ave, Erwin, TN 37650.
Sibrina Barnett also died in the flooding.
A relative of an Impact Plastics employee confirmed to 10News that Sibrina Barnett is one of the former employees who died in the flooding.
Bertha Mendoza also is to have believed to die in the flooding.
According to an obituary, Bertha Mendoza, 56, died following the flooding of the Nolichucky River. The obituary said she was a native of Janamuato, Michoacan, Mexico, but she'd been a resident of Unicoi County since 1998.
Mendoza worked for Impact Plastics for years and is survived by her parents, husband, four children, four grandchildren and other family members.
"She enjoyed spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren," the obituary said.
Her family has set up a GoFundMe campaign page to help pay for funeral expenses.
Lidia Verdugo also died in the floods.
A family member of an Impact Plastics employee confirmed that Lidia Verdugo died in the flooding. She was an employee at Impact Plastics.
"She was a great mother and grandmother," her loved ones wrote on a GoFundMe page. "The family is devastated by this event."
NBC affiliate WCYB-TV reports Monica Hernandez also died in the flooding.
According to a GoFundMe page, Hernandez is a mother, wife and friend. She left behind three children, and her family is asking for money to help her be laid to rest next to her late daughter in Mexico.
Rosa Andrade is still missing after the flooding.
Search and rescue officials told 10News last week that the effort to find her is the biggest search and rescue effort in the history of Unicoi County Search and Rescue.
Andrade is a wife and mother of two children.
You can learn more about the efforts to find her below.
