Amazon driver died in bathroom sheltering from tornado with colleagues

EDWARDSVILLE, Sick., Dec 12 (Reuters) – Amazon cargo driver Austin J. McEwen, 26, was an solely youngster who liked to take heed to rapper Mac Miller and hunt along with his pals.

He died making an attempt to shelter from a powerful tornado within the toilet at an Amazon.com (AMZN.O) warehouse on Friday evening, in keeping with a coworker.

McEwen was considered one of six employees recognized by police on Sunday who had been killed when their plant in Edwardsville, Illinois, buckled beneath the power of the devastating storm. A barrage of tornadoes ripped via six U.S. states, leaving a path of loss of life and destruction at properties and companies stretching greater than 200 miles (322 km).

“He was my good friend and he did not make it,” mentioned coworker Brian Erdmann, who was on his option to make a supply to the warehouse. “If I’d have gotten again 45 minutes earlier, I most likely would have been on the similar place. I’d have been proper there with him.”

The opposite Amazon employees recognized as useless by a coroner had been Deandre S. Morrow, 28, of St. Louis, Missouri; Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle, Illinois; Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton, Illinois; Etheria S. Hebb, 24, of St. Louis, Missouri; and Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville, Illinois.

A number of workers informed Reuters that that they had been directed to shelter in loos by Amazon managers after receiving emergency alerts on cell phones from authorities.

Amazon mentioned workers had been directed to shelter in place at a chosen meeting space on the entrance of the constructing, which was close to a restroom.

The positioning acquired twister warnings between 8:06 p.m. and eight:16 p.m. earlier than the twister struck the constructing at 8:27 p.m., the corporate mentioned.

“Our group labored shortly to make sure as many workers and companions may get to the designated Shelter in Place,” the corporate mentioned in a press release. “We thank them for the whole lot they had been capable of do.”

A few of these employees mentioned that they had stored their telephones regardless of what they believed was a violation of an Amazon coverage that stops them from having cellphones at work.

The corporate responded by saying that there was no Amazon coverage that stops workers or contractors from having a cellphone at work.

“I used to be on the finish of my route. I used to be simply getting within the constructing and so they began screaming, ‘Shelter in place!'” mentioned David Kosiak, 26, who has labored on the facility for 3 months. “We had been within the loos. That is the place they despatched us.”

“It seemed like a practice got here via the constructing. The ceiling tiles got here flying down. It very loud. They made us shelter in place til we left – it was no less than two and a half hours in there.”

The Nationwide Climate Service mentioned the hurricane hit the realm between 8:28 and eight:32 p.m. central time, intensifying quickly because it struck the Amazon warehouse. With estimated peak winds of 150 miles per hour (241 km-per-hour) winds, the power was so extreme that the roof was ripped off and 11-inch (28-cm) thick concrete partitions longer than soccer fields fell in on themselves.

At the least 45 Amazon workers made it out safely. Authorities had given up hope of discovering extra survivors as they shifted from rescue to restoration efforts that had been anticipated to final days.

The corporate has three amenities in Edwardsville: the supply station hit by the storm in addition to a success middle and a sorting station. The supply station opened in July 2020 to organize orders for last-mile supply to prospects.

Amazon mentioned it was donating $1 million to the Edwardsville Group Basis. The corporate mentioned it’s offering aid provides in addition to transport, meals and water.

On Sunday, Amazon employees arrived on the warehouse throughout the road, closely guarded by safety, to start out shifts.

“It is a reminder of the trauma that I simply endured however I shall be returning to work at Amazon,” mentioned McEwen’s good friend and coworker Emily Epperson. “That is my livelihood.”

Reporting by Richa Naidu in Edwardsville, Illinois and Caroline Stauffer in Chicago; Writing by Leela de Kretser; Modifying by Lisa Shumaker, Robert Birsel

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.