Amazon and a trucking company are among the defendants in a lawsuit filed by the family of a teen who sustained severe traumatic brain injuries in a May 2025 school bus crash. The suit alleges the driver, Shawn Akison, had a 20-year history of driving violations and drug use, and that his employers failed to keep him off the road.
Lucas Bradshaw, then 16, was a passenger on a junior varsity baseball team's mini school bus when Akison, driving a truck for Amazon deliveries as a subcontractor, crashed into the back of the bus. According to the lawsuit, Akison was traveling over 75 mph in a 45-mph zone, was impaired by fentanyl, and was using his phone to check the Amazon app at the time of the collision. The impact overturned the bus and ejected Bradshaw approximately 75 feet.
Bradshaw underwent emergency brain surgery and remained in a coma for 54 days, with a total of 125 days spent hospitalized and in rehabilitation. The suit states he suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, multiple brain hemorrhages, facial fractures, a broken arm, and continues to experience significant cognitive impairment, memory loss, vision loss, and impaired mobility.
The family's lawsuit names Amazon, Elite Courier (the trucking company that hired Akison), and St. Joseph County officials as defendants. They argue that Amazon and Elite Courier did not adequately vet Akison, despite his alleged history of driving with a suspended license, speeding, phone use while driving, weaving, and leaving the scene of another crash. The suit also claims St. Joseph County police were aware of Akison's erratic driving on the day of the crash, initiated a pursuit, but terminated it without notifying neighboring LaPorte County officials when Akison crossed the county line.
In January 2025, less than four months before the school bus crash, Akison was arrested and charged with possession of heroin while making Amazon deliveries for Elite Courier, following 911 calls about his erratic driving, the lawsuit states. Earlier this year, Akison was sentenced to eight years in Indiana prison after pleading guilty to causing catastrophic injury while operating a motor vehicle under the influence.
According to the suit, Akison had also consumed cocaine approximately five days before the crash and three unprescribed Hydrocodone pills the day prior. The crash reportedly involved another school bus and a fourth vehicle, injuring a total of seven baseball players and two coaches.
An Amazon spokesperson stated, "This was a tragedy, and our hearts are with the families affected as they recover and the entire LaPorte County community. Given this is active litigation, we have no further comment."
Elite Courier could not be reached for comment, and St. Joseph County Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.