The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has concluded its inquiry into the East Tennessee Plastics factory, where six employees lost their lives in September due to the impacts of Hurricane Helen. They did not find any signs of criminal wrongdoing.

Workers’ rights advocates, along with families of the deceased, allege that the plastic company’s practices in Tennessee may be at fault. The company has firmly denied any misconduct.

District Attorney General Stephen Finney requested the TBI to investigate the circumstances surrounding the flood. Following the investigation, which wrapped up on July 18, Finney announced no criminal charges would be pursued against Gerald O’Connor, the factory owner, or any of his staff.

The TBI’s investigation included a search warrant executed at the Impact Plastics facility, located near the Noricchukki River, and interviews with 26 witnesses over several months.

According to a statement released by the TBI, “No evidence was found to support claims that employees were coerced or prohibited from leaving as the floodwaters rose.”

However, the report also noted that some employees of Impact Plastics had not been interviewed due to a lack of cooperation. According to the timeline provided, O’Connor terminated an employee shortly before the flood cut off evacuation routes.

The findings from TBI mirrored those of a Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Management report issued in April. That report determined that the conditions at the factory were reasonable and that the deaths of the employees were not work-related since they left the site prior to the incident. While the agency did not issue penalties following its review, it suggested that companies create robust weather emergency plans tailored to their specific locations.

Meanwhile, the family of Johnny Peterson, one of the flood victims, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company. Court documents describe Peterson’s experience as he and other employees witnessed the rising flood in the industrial area, and detail desperate texts he sent to his family while trying to escape.

The lawsuit claims that management at Impact Plastics was aware the factory was situated on a floodplain yet still required employees to work during severe weather, even as local schools and other businesses were closed due to the storm.

Peterson, a father of four, reportedly tried to escape along with colleagues but was ultimately overwhelmed by the floodwaters and debris after they clung to the bed of a semi-truck. In total, five employees and one independent contractor perished, although five other employees were rescued by the National Guard.

O’Connor and the company publicly expressed their acceptance of TBI’s findings in a statement released on July 18.

They emphasized their full cooperation with the investigations over recent months and asserted that the facts revealed by the investigations confirm that reasonable efforts were made to ensure employee safety during the flood.

When contacted for comments on the investigation’s findings, the attorney for Peterson’s family declined to comment, referencing the ongoing legal proceedings.