Video from Impact Plastics employee launches investigation, attention from Tenn. officials

UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL)—On Friday, employees at Impact Plastics in Erwin were allegedly told they could not leave the facility despite flash flood warnings. An employee from the company surfaced a dramatic video of that day that has caught the attention of District Attorney General Steve Finney.

After severe flooding in the region, Unicoi County is now under a major disaster declaration, and dozens are missing—some of them who never left Impact Plastics after reportedly being forced to stay.

A video taken by an Impact Plastics employee has now gained the attention of District Attorney General Steve Finney, who asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to look into the allegations regarding the company’s flood response.

Finney asked the TBI to “look into allegations involving Impact Plastics in Unicoi County, Tennessee. Specifically, I asked that they review the occurrences of Friday, September 27, 2024, to identify any potential criminal violations.”

Jacob Ingram, an employee at Impact Plastics, said the company should be held responsible for the people who have died and are still missing.

“I think they should have to pay for it, have to pay for what they did,” he said. “I think that someone needs to be held accountable for the lives lost because there’s no price you can put on a life. There isn’t.”

Ingram said he asked management if he could leave the facility when water started rising in the parking lot but was told no. He said some employees sought refuge on a semi-truck for nearly two hours before it flipped into rushing water.

“I was trying to help one of the ladies out of the big coils of plastic, and while I was trying to help her out, a big tree fell on me, causing most of the pain I’m going through,” he said.

Ingram was one of five Impact Plastics employees rescued by helicopter by the National Guard.

As of Tuesday, three people in Unicoi County have died from flood-related deaths , and several are still missing, according to TEMA.

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