Tornado victim’s family sues Amazon over warehouse collapse

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The family of a delivery driver who died last month when a tornado collapsed the Amazon warehouse in central Illinois where he worked has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The Madison County action Monday 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 Dec. 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 center.

It is believed to be the first legal action taken in response to the deaths.