Tennessee, United States

A Tennessee factory worker's family has sued the company and its CEO for ordering employees to stay in the factory amid the catastrophic Hurricane Helene while sneaking out themselves which led to the death of the worker. 

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The 55-year-old Johnny Peterson was one of the two workers employed at Impact Plastics who lost their lives in flooding which had engulfed the factory in the of Erwin on September 27. 

Among the 11 workers who had been swept away, five of them were rescued and four others went missing, as per the reports.

Worker's family files explosive lawsuit

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The family of Peterson filed an explosive lawsuit in Tennessee state court on Monday (Oct 14) according to which the managers of the facility did not allow employees to leave their work and move out as the hurricane wreaked havoc in the area. 

Also Read: Weeks after Hurricane Helene, nearly 100 people still missing in North Carolina

At around 10 am (local time), the workers started receiving notifications from the National Weather Service in which everyone was appealed to evacuate to higher ground, as per the lawsuit.

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At 10:30 am (local time), the employees were informed by the company managers to move their cars since the parking lot had started flooding, claimed the lawsuit. 

At 11: 35am (local time), senior management which included Impact Plastics founder and CEO Gerald O’Connor had “stealthily exited the building,” read the court papers.

The workers had assumed that they were free to go home because local schools and other businesses had been closed down in the wake of Hurricane Helene, said the suit. 

However, Impact Plastics had instead asked its employees to report to work since the company “wanted to meet order deadlines,” stated court documents.

The workers were not freed till water had entered the parking lot of the plant and the power went out. 

Watch: Hurricane Helene death toll passes 210 In The US

In the lawsuit, the family had included the text messages Peterson had sent in his final moments revealing his fears that he would fail to escape the floodwaters.

Peterson had stepped outside the building, however, he went back to help employees “trapped inside” but eventually got trapped, said that claims. 

“Johnny knew he could not survive much longer as the water levels continued to swell and pummel the semi-trailer,” the lawsuit read.

“He texted his daughter for the last time at 1:17 p.m. ‘I love you allllll,’ he managed to type out. This was the last text Alexa Peterson received from her father," it stated. 

(With inputs from agencies)