ROSELAND — While the public waits for an explanation into what caused a massive explosion at Smitty's in Roseland, a former employee tells the WBRZ Investigative Unit it was only a matter of time.
The employee, whom we will refer to by her last name, 'Padilla,' worked as an administrator at Smitty's from 2021 to 2023. Her job was to handle all the paperwork for the trucks leaving the docks and transporting materials, but there was an aspect of her job she claims she did not agree to.
"We were told to make it look like a non-hazmat order," Padilla said about what she was required to write in paperwork. "No placards, no red steel on it, just a regular truck doing a regular route, and I was uncomfortable with that."
In a complaint she filed with the Department of Environmental Quality, che