Left A “ZOMBIE”
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We don’t like companies that put profits over safety, so we hope the big bosses at the Chevron Phillips Chemical plant in Cedar Bayou are watching this report.
They won’t talk to us, but emails show they’re responsible for turning a 27-year-old father INTO A ZOMBIE.
FIRE HYDRANT SCRIPT
Life used to be so simple for Ian Alexander. Here he is cooking breakfast with his high school sweetheart Shawna.
They met when they were just 16.
“We were in high school; it was our very first date and we walked over to Sonic. I didn’t have any money, and Ian only had enough money to buy a burger and fries, so we split the hamburger and french fries together,” recalls Shawna.
Years late, they would get married.
Sons Landon and Benjamin are now 9 and 3 years old.
And there’s the little baby girl Addison.
By all accounts Ian was a phenomenal dad and husband.
“He loved going on walks with the family and taking the kids to the park. He loved having family over,” said Shawna.
But now the laughter is gone, Ian spends his days alone in a dark room.
“You might see a normal person, but he’s not. The man who is here looks like my husband, but he’s not there,” expressed Shawna.
November 10, 2020, that was the day Ian’s life was shattered.
Ian worked as a fire technician for a company called Vallen, he was told to repair a fire hydrant at the Chevron Phillips plant.
It was something he had done so many times before, but this time would be so different.
Vallen was worried the valve controlling the pressurized water in this hydrant was damaged, it was leaking. They wanted to fully rebuild the hydrant that showed signs of overuse. The hydrant apparently had been routinely turned on just to clean the concrete.
“If you have an indication there is something wrong with the valve you better darn sure shut off the water and check the valve, right? But they didn’t do that. They didn’t care one bit,” said attorney Chad Pinkerton.
A full fire hydrant repair would require shutting off the water, affecting operations at the plant for hours.
“But instead of doing the full rebuild they chose the cheaper route that always put the worker in a position to get hurt. And now we have a man whose life is absolutely destroyed,” continued Pinkerton.
It’s hard for Ian to tell us what happened.
“So, I took off the bolts, and the bolts, I rethreaded them when I was done, and I kept everything organized because I was very organized. When I took off that last … It’s hard to remember,” recalls Ian.
“And as soon as he took the 1st bolt off the top of it. It shot up like a bottle rocket and hit him in the head,” states Pinkerton.
Look at what Chevron Phillips did to Ian in their quest to save a few bucks.
Shawna recalled the horrific phone call from her husband while she was at work.
“He called me and said I love you Shawna, and just started crying, and I didn’t know what was going on,” recalls Shawna.
That’s why Ian’s lawyers wanted to interrogate Chevron Phillip’s fire protection guy.
“What happened in this incident was that Chevron Phillips had a procedure in place that unreasonably increased the probability and severity of injury because it had a procedure that allowed water to main — to be maintained and flowing in the main line without lockout/tagout procedures during a top-end rebuild — rebuild, correct?” Asked Pinkerton in the deposition.
“That is correct,” replied CHARLES CARDEN
“All right. And that was known beforehand, right?” continued Pinkerton.
“Yes,” concluded Carden.
Charles Carden was written up more than once for an error in judgement, opening up the company to possible public and legal exposure.
“You guys at Vallen followed his instructions, didn’t you?” asked Pinkerton.
“Yes sir,” said lead technician Rodney Hernandez.
In 25 years, Rodney Hernandez says he’s never seen his fire experts overruled like this. Laid the blame of the horrific decision to cut corners squarely on Chevron Phillips Chemicals.
“CP Chem chose the method, which determined your employees work on the day in question?” asked Pinkerton.
“Yes sir,” said Hernandez.
Jeffrey Gates, who was Carden’s boss at the time, he wanted him fired.
“It was your determination that Mr. Carden, based on the failure — failures y’all identified, that he should be fired or terminated; isn’t that, right?” asked Pinkerton.
“At that particular time and juncture, yes,” replied Gates.
“But apparently you didn’t get the support for firing and terminating because he didn’t get fired or terminated, did he?” asked Pinkerton.
He’s still employed,” responded Gates.
Gates is still employed too. In fact, he’s been promoted.
Ian suffered a traumatic brain injury; it’s changed who he is.
He can’t do simple tasks like go to a grocery store, mow the lawn, watch his kids.
Once a strong handyman who enjoyed working around the house.
Ian has struggled with PTSD. Ever since the accident, he now has hallucinations.
“I see these shadow people and I hear voices sometimes, and I go crazy. The world becomes something else it’s not enjoyable,” said Ian.
Chevron Phillips Chemical has avoided the public exposure it apparently worried about.
And the chemical company led Vallen the contractor report the injury to the Occupation Safety and Health Administration.
Vallen glossed over the severity of the injury, they reported Ian had a cut on his forehead.
OSHAS website shows Vallen reported the injury like it took place on their own property, Chevron Phillips involvement was never mentioned.
Nor the horrible result for Ian. That traumatic brain injury.
Ian now struggles to even walk.
“I had to re-learn things, and it broke … it broke my will for a while and that’s a hard thing to do. It broke me down real good,” expressed Ian.
There are horrible mood swings, Ian is irritable and angry, and he’s lost interest in about everything that once gave him joy.
“It didn’t just destroy this young man’s life. Think about his wife. Think about his mom and dad. Think about his little kids,” said Pinkerton.
“Me and him, we used to watch movies together, and have favorite tv shows, and he doesn’t have the attention or want to do it. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like hey, there’s a new TV series. Let’s watch it. No,” recalls Shawna.
Ian’s own kids don’t understand why their dad now either lashes out at them or is cold and distant.
It’s destroyed a once solid bond between Ian and his oldest son.
“Ian used to play with him all the time. And now because of this accident and what it’s caused with him, my son always says I don’t want to be around him. Why is daddy so mean?” said Shawna.
“I hate to depend on people, and I hate, I absolutely hate being around people,” said Ian.
“One of the things we used to really like to do together was working on cars. Now he don’t have the interest, don’t have the want to do thing, we don’t work together on projects like we should or did,” said Ian’s father, Michael Alexander.
“He just sits. He’s just a zombie. I hate to put it that way, but this thing has made him almost zombified. He’s in a trance,” said Pastor Joseph Reynolds.
Pastor Joseph Reynolds has known the Alexanders for over 20 years, he officiated Ian and Shawna’s wedding.
“You have a person that’s lost his worth as a husband, as a father and a provider,” continued Pastor Reynolds.
Ian had big plans to better provide for his family, he began working at his company part time but worked his way up to full time mobile technician with benefits and a company truck. The work was tough, but Ian enjoyed it.
“This was a preventable accident, and you know, Ian just showed up to do his job,” said Shawna’s dad, Tommy.
At just 27 years old, Ian is not just unemployed, he may be unemployable.
“It’s heartbreaking to know that he is not the same man that he was coming out to be,” continued Miachel Alexander.
This young family is financially struggling, they had to give up their home and now live in Shawna’s dad’s house.
“These kids need help. This man needs help. Shawna needs help,” said Pastor Reynolds.
The family can’t even afford therapy they so desperately need.
We watched as Ian tried to read a simple children’s book to his little one.
“Does he feel bad for him? This incident has impacted his ability to raise and provide for his kids?” asked Pinkerton.
“I would feel bad for anyone,” responded Rodeny Hernandez.
No one wants to see Ian like this.
This is what happens when a company chooses profits over safety.
“It’s extremely frustrating and heartbreaking and I just wish it never happened,” expressed Shawna.
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