Tragedy or Negligence? How a Factory’s Decision Cost Bertha Mendoza Her Life During Hurricane Helene
On September 27, 2024, Bertha Mendoza did what she had done for over two decades—she showed up to work. The 56-year-old mother of four clocked in for her shift at Impact Plastics Inc. in Erwin, Tennessee, unaware she would never return home.
She never should have been there that day.
Instead of celebrating the start of fall with her family or baking her beloved tres leches cakes, Bertha spent her last moments clinging to coiled tubing in the back of an open truck, fighting against the rising floodwaters of Hurricane Helene. According to NBC News, she was one of several workers ordered to stay on-site until it was too late to leave safely.
What happened to Bertha Mendoza was not just a natural disaster—it was a tragedy the company could have prevented.
A Call That Never Should Have Happened
Originally from Janamuato, Michoacán, Mexico, Bertha Mendoza moved to the United States in 1998 with her husband and children in search of a better life. She found community in Erwin, Tennessee, where she became known for her warm heart and delicious tres leches cakes, which she made not for profit but out of passion.
On the morning of September 27, Bertha called her son, Guillermo Mendoza. It was a call no mother should have to make: “She told me not to go out in the storm, not to take my kids out,” Guillermo recalled. By the afternoon, the water levels around the factory were already rising. Yet, the leadership at Impact Plastics Inc. insisted workers should stay put.
A few hours later, Bertha called her daughter. Her voice was calm but with an edge of finality. She told her it might be their last conversation and that she loved her.
When Warnings Turn into Fatal Consequences
The decision-makers at Impact Plastics had plenty of warnings. The government issued flash flood alerts early in the day, and the water levels in the parking lot were visibly rising. Still, workers said the orders were to continue working and to move their cars if they needed to rather than go home. When the evacuation orders finally came, it was too late.
A desperate scramble to escape led to chaos. Bertha Mendoza and other workers were crammed into an open truck bed in an attempt to flee the rapidly increasing floodwaters. Guillermo, who had already grabbed life jackets and a water dispenser, raced to get to her. But the water was too high, and the truck she was on had already been swept away.
Bertha’s last call was to her husband of 38 years, Elías Mendoza. “She said ‘I love you’ and ‘Please tell my children I love them,’ and those were her last words,” Guillermo said.
“We Had Nowhere to Go”
Survivors from the factory described the scene in gut-wrenching detail. The water rose so quickly that there was no time to form an organized escape. Robby Jarvis, one of Bertha’s co-workers, recounted the confusion and fear: “We were all in panic mode because the water came up so fast and … we had nowhere to go.”
The company, however, insists they released workers on time. A state investigation is now underway, but for families like the Mendozas, the damage is already done.
Bertha’s son Guillermo, a minister at the First Baptist Church of Erwin, has shifted from anger to quiet acceptance. “At first, it was anger, then sadness. Now I feel at peace, at least knowing my mom is resting in peace, in a far better place.”
The Death of Bertha Mendoza is More Than a Statistic
The story of Bertha Mendoza is not just another tragic headline about a hurricane’s aftermath. It is a glaring reminder of how negligence can turn a natural disaster into a preventable tragedy.
Bertha wasn’t just a factory worker—she was a mother, a grandmother, and a source of strength and love for everyone around her. She built a new life for herself and her family in a town that became her home, only to lose it all because her safety was not prioritized.
Guillermo speaks about his mother’s death with a mix of sorrow and frustration, knowing that this could have been avoided.
As the investigation unfolds, the hope is that Bertha’s death won’t just be a statistic but a turning point. It is a story that pushes for accountability and real change so that no other family has to suffer like hers did. Because lives like Bertha Mendoza’s should not be lost to a system that values profit over people.
