Several delivery drivers and their families were joined by civil rights attorney Ben Crump and former Madison County Associate Judge Jennifer Hightower on Tuesday to share their experience when a deadly EF-3 tornado struck the Edwardsville Amazon facility on Dec. 10, saying the corporate giant had an obligation to put employee safety first.
A press conference was held at the Mount Joy Baptist Church in Edwardsville after two lawsuits were filed in the Madison County Circuit Court on behalf of the surviving delivery drivers who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and the family of deceased driver Deandre Morrow.
“Amazon is one of the most powerful entities in the world, and these families, these victims, with the community of Edwardsville, they’re standing up against this Goliath as the little Davids, saying you are wrong,” Crump said.
Six employees were killed when part of the warehouse collapsed, including Morrow, 28, Austin McEwen, 26, Kevin D. Dickey, 62, Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, Etheria S. Hebb, 34, and Larry E. Virden, 46. Dozens of others were injured.
“All of their lives mattered, Amazon,” Crump said. “And until you do right by them, we won’t be silent. We will continue to demand justice and accountability.”
The press conference opened with words and prayer from Bishop Jeffrey Dudley, who said employers have a moral obligation to ensure the safety of their employees.
“Scripture is full of reference to justice,” he said. “God is a God of justice.”
Crump said the tragedy would have been preventable “if Amazon lived up to its words.”
“‘We aim to be Earth’s safest place to work. We are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all Amazon employees everyday,’” Crump read. “That wasn’t true on Dec. 10.”
“Their actions do not match their words,” he added.
Crump said the “scathing” OSHA report found that there were “very critical safety issues,” including Amazon’s failure to provide storm shelters, an emergency plan, direction from managers or a megaphone so employees could hear instructions.
He explained that while Amazon built the building in 2017, it was constructed under 2005 or 2007 standards. Both dates were mentioned. At the time, the most up-to-date building standards were from 2015.
He added that caulk was the only thing supporting the building’s columns.
“The fire marshal couldn’t find a weld or bolt connection at the base of any column in that warehouse,” Crump said. “All they could find was finishing caulk holding down columns.”
“Caulk. Caulk was holding the foundation to the ground, and when that tornado hit, like a gingerbread house, that warehouse went, too, leaving families devastated,” he added.
He said that scriptures in the Bible say to “build your house on solid rock,” to create a solid foundation when storms come.
“Because we know storms will come. But Amazon did not build this warehouse with a solid foundation,” Crump said.
Crump also said drivers were told they could not seek shelter at home during the storm and were instructed to finish their routes.
“Profit over safety,” he said.
He was asked if Amazon did anything correct during the storm. Hightower, who is now an attorney with Hilliard Martinez Gonzales LLP in Corpus Christi, Texas, said it is important to look at what Amazon did do.
She said that roughly 36 hours before the tornado hit, alerts and advisories were sent out about the storm. While tornado warning sirens were heard throughout the community, she said drivers were being instructed to deliver more packages.
“That’s important. We need to look at what they did do. We can’t speak for, we think we know what they didn’t do, but we can tell you what they did do,” Hightower said.
Crump urged the federal government to get involved, saying Amazon’s safety concerns are a national issue. He said Amazon had previously been put on notice for safety issues after a Baltimore warehouse collapsed in November 2018, killing two people.
“If it can happen in Maryland and Illinois, then it can happen in any state,” he said.
The lawsuits were filed on April 19 through attorneys Patrick King of MillerKing LLC in Alton and attorneys with Hilliard Martinez Gonzales LLP in Corpus Christi, Texas. One lawsuit was filed on behalf of Morrow’s mother, Deon January. The other was filed on behalf of drivers Jamarco Hickman, Evan Jensen, Jada Williams and Deontae Yancey.
The lawsuits name Amazon.com Inc., Amazon Logistics Inc., Contegra Construction Company, Tristar Properties LLC, Stock & Associates Consulting Engineers Inc., Gray Design Group Inc., and McNealy Engineering Inc. as defendants.
Six individuals were killed at the Amazon fulfillment center when the tornado struck the building at 8:28 p.m. weeks before Christmas with winds reaching speeds of 150 mph. The tornado caused a portion of the building’s roof and walls to collapse and leveled parts of the facility.
Morrow, of Belleville, was one of the six who were killed at the facility.
All of the plaintiff drivers worked for either AB&C Dad Inc. or XSeed Inc.
During the press conference, January, Yancey, Williams and Hickman were present to share what happened on Dec. 10 and the injuries they have suffered since then. Crump said that Jensen was not able to attend due to work obligations.
January spoke about Morrow’s death and was joined by her daughter Jerriah January, her husband Jarrett January and Bishop Dudley.
“It breaks my heart that he was supposed to take his day off but was called and asked to work an extra shift,” she said.
She said that Morrow was trying to earn extra money for the holidays and to repay her back for a car that she had purchased.
She said Morrow wanted to be an entrepreneur and help the homeless. He dreamed of opening a Boys and Girls Club, laundromats and car washes.
“With that being said, he will not do that at all now,” January said.
She added that Amazon was responsible for the employees’ safety while they were at work, and they deserved to be treated as humans rather than commodities.
Yancey said he remembers how strange the weather was on Dec. 10. He explained that he started his shift on a cold December morning. However, he said that shortly after lunch the winter weather had gotten so warm that he had to take his coat off.
He said he received a message around 6:30 p.m. asking him to help another driver finish delivering their packages, but he denied the request as he had not yet finished his own deliveries.
When he did finish, he returned to the warehouse. He said the storm feels like it was a dream.
“I thought I was going to die,” Yancey said.
He explained that the bathrooms where they were instructed to take shelter in were not very big, and some drivers were still delivering packages as the tornado started to hit.
Williams said she had only been working as a delivery driver for Amazon for a few weeks when the tornado hit. She said she could see the sky getting darker as the storm rolled in and asked for help delivering her packages. After getting some help from her cousin, she said he told her to quickly return to the warehouse as the tornado was coming.
“As soon as I put the van in park, the building started falling down,” Williams said.
She said she ran into the building to take shelter and thought the building was going to keep collapsing.
Williams said she could smell gas and could hear people yelling and screaming. She started to have an asthma attack, but no one came to help her, she said.
Hickman was the last plaintiff to speak during the press conference. He said he had been looking forward to the holidays, which is referred to as the peak season by Amazon.
He said that during the storm on Dec. 10, he was told he could not leave the warehouse and needed to go to the bathrooms for shelter. He likened the tornado striking the building to a “loud roar.”
“I cannot shake off hearing those walls collapsing,” Hickman said.
He said he and his co-workers were stuck in the bathroom for hours until they were rescued.
In an emotional recounting, Hickman said the experience has caused him to suffer from anxiety, depression, and waves of grief, worry and fear.
“Since the collapse, I’m struggling financially, mentally,” he said.
He explained that his vehicle was parked in the south parking lot and was destroyed by the tornado. He said he still does not have any means of transportation and was fired on Jan. 1 as a result. He said Amazon promised assistance but has failed to respond to his “numerous attempts” to contact the defendant.
“Those were clearly false promises,” Hickman said.
Hickman said Amazon would regularly contact him to help other drivers but never called or texted the night of the tornado to warn him of the dangers.
“If Amazon can contact me about making extra deliveries, Amazon can contact me when a tornado is known to be incoming,” he said.
He urged Amazon to do better.
“I want to send my deepest condolences to all the families of my fallen co-workers,” Hickman said.
“Please don’t let my fellow drivers die in vain,” he added.
Illinois State Sen. Chris Belt (D-East St. Louis), Illinois NAACP President Teresa Haley, Alton Mayor David Goins, Madison County Board member Victor Valentine, Walt Williams, Andy Hightower and Bill White were also present at the press conference.