SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS (AP) — The family of a delivery driver who died last month when a tornado collapsed the central Illinois Amazon facility where he worked filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Monday.
The action on behalf of Austin McEwen, 26, claims that Amazon failed to warn employees of dangerous weather or provide safe shelter before a tornado slammed the Edwardsville facility on December 10, killing McEwen and five others.
McEwen’s parents, Randy and Alice McEwen, allege that Amazon administrators knew severe weather was imminent but had no emergency plan nor evacuated employees from the fulfillment centre.
Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel released a statement that countered that the lawsuit “misunderstands key facts” including the differences among severe weather alerts and the condition and safety of the building.
