Workers forced to stay at factory drowned during Hurricane Helene while CEO sneaked out and survived, scathing lawsuit claims

The family of a Tennessee factory worker who was killed during Hurricane Helene is suing the company and its CEO — claiming that the bosses sneaked out of the factory to escape catastrophic weather conditions while they ordered employees to stay.Johnny Peterson, 55, was one of five workers at Impact Plastics who died in flooding that engulfed the factory in the rural town of Erwin on Sept.27.

According to an explosive lawsuit filed by Peterson’s family on Monday in Tennessee state court, the facility’s managers denied employees’ pleas to leave work as the hurricane came bearing down on the area.That’s despite the fact that workers began receiving notifications from the National Weather Service around 10 a.m.urging all who could to evacuate to higher ground, according to the suit.At around 10:30 a.m., company managers told employees to move their cars because the parking lot was flooding, the suit claims.An hour later at 11:35 a.m., senior management including Impact Plastics founder and CEO Gerald O’Connor had “stealthily exited the building,” according to court papers.

Workers had assumed they also were allowed to go home as local schools and other businesses announced closures because of Hurricane Helene, the suit alleges.Instead, Impact Plastics allegedly instructed its employees to report to work because the company “wanted to meet order deadlines,” court documents show.It wasn’t until water had flooded the plant’s parking lot and the power went out that managers sent workers home, the suit claims.The suit gives a heartbreaking account of Peterson’s final moments, including text messages with his family revealing his fears that he would not escape the flood waters.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, the suit claims.Peterson managed to climb onto the bed of a semi-trailer attempting...