…The owner of a factory where six workers died last year in flooding from Hurricane Helene won’t face charges after a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found no criminal wrongdoing. First Judicial District Attorney General Steven Finney announced the decision to close the case on Friday, saying no further action will be taken.

The investigation found no evidence that Impact Plastics employees were told they could not leave the factory or that they would be fired if they left, according to a news release from the district attorney. It also found employees had a little more than an hour during which they could have evacuated from the Erwin, Tennessee, industrial park. The conclusion mirrors that of a similar investigation by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration that found in April that workers had time to evacuate the premises, albeit by makeshift routes.

Although the criminal case is being closed, the company still faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of Johnny Peterson, and other civil suits are planned…

Attorney Luke Widener, who represents the families of several flood victims, said in a statement that they “categorically disagree that Impact Plastics employees were given any meaningful opportunity to escape…