Displaying items by tag: erwin flood deaths

This still image from video shot by a victim of the flooding at Impact Plastics in Erwin illustrates the terror of the flood that killed six employees of the plant at the height of Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024.  Family of Johnny Peterson via WSMV

Attorney for families says evidence ignored; some cases will move to civil court

ERWIN — Prosecutors decided that no criminal charges will be filed in connection with the deaths of six employees of a Unicoi County manufacturing facility during last year’s catastrophic Hurricane Helene.

District Attorney General Steven Finney of the First Judicial District — whose office oversees cases in Washington, Carter, Unicoi and Johnson counties in northeastern Tennessee —  announced the decision nine months after asking the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to determine what happened on September 27, 2024, when six employees of Impact Plastics lost their lives as unprecedented flooding from Hurricane Helene, downgraded to a tropical storm at that point, swept the region and killed hundreds.

It remains unclear what the future holds for communities devastated by the hurricane, many of which are still struggling to rebuild. It’s believed that 252 people lost their lives due to Helene, and officials have estimated the storm caused nearly $80 billion in damage.

This still image from video shot by a victim of the flooding at Impact Plastics in Erwin illustrates the terror of the flood that killed five employees of the plant at the height of Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024.  Family of Johnny Peterson via WSMV

Victim’s attorney: A jury will ultimately decide what happened during flooding of Erwin plant

ERWIN — State safety officials ruled that Impact Plastics wasn’t responsible for the deaths of six employees who were killed by the catastrophic flash floods caused by Hurricane Helene in September.

But while company representatives were pleased with the outcome of the findings released April 3 by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA), both state law enforcement officials and private attorneys representing the victims’ families said that Impact Plastics hasn’t been cleared of wrongdoing just yet. 

For instance, a criminal probe conducted by the TBI was still underway and District Attorney General Steven R. Finney declined on Thursday to exonerate the company. Finney called in the TBI after the six employees were killed on September 27, 2024, to determine if criminal charges should be filed in connection with their deaths.

“At this time, the investigation concerning Impact Plastics is still pending,” Finney’s executive assistant, Chrystie Kyte, said in an e-mail to Hellbender Press. “General Finney has no comment at this time.”

The dead included five Impact Plastics employees and one independent contractor. They have been identified as Sibrina Barnett, Monica Hernandez, Bertha Mendoza, Johnny Peterson, Rosa Maria Andrade Reynoso and Lidia Verdugo.