Civil rights attorney to represent family of Edwardsville tornado victim
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Tornado hits Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville. Six people killed
Here’s coverage of the aftermath storms that struck the metro-east in December 2021
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Attorneys Benjamin Crump and Bob Hilliard will represent the family of DeAndre Morrow, the 28-year-old who was killed after a tornado struck an Edwardsville Amazon facility, according to a press release sent Tuesday morning.
Morrow, a St. Louis native, was among the six victims who died while working at the Amazon warehouse Friday night. The attorneys are meeting with other victims’ families and survivors to investigate the issue, according to the release.
Both lawyers issued the following statement:
“The family members we represent are deeply distraught and want answers to their questions. We are seeking to determine if Amazon did everything in its power to warn employees of the incoming danger from the tornado and provide a designated safe area for employees to shelter. Just three years ago, a tornado struck an Amazon warehouse in Baltimore, Maryland, killing two people. Were lessons learned from that tragedy turned into new policies and were they followed here? We are asking Amazon employees who worked at the fulfillment center to assist us with our investigation and help us understand what warnings were given and what procedures followed. And we commend the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for opening an investigation into workplace safety at the facility. Out of this horrific event, it’s essential that proper protocols be put in place to protect the safety of warehouse workers to the fullest extent possible.”
TreMon Crawford, Morrow’s brother, said that his family wants justice and answers about why he died. They don’t think Amazon properly handled the situation. Crawford said he’s grateful that his brother’s death is getting more attention.
“It tells me that he’s important like he should be,” Crawford, 27, said. “I just didn’t want this swept under the rug. That was my thing that made me angry because I’m losing a brother, so he’s much more than his name to me.
“It helps to know I can have somebody who can take what I feel and put it into words. He wanted so much. He wanted to do so much and now that he can’t, I just feel like it’s my responsibility to share his life, his gift, his ambitions. “
On Monday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation into the Amazon warehouse collapsing. The federal agency has six months to complete the investigation.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said on Sunday that managers at the warehouse began implementing “shelter in place” protocols at the warehouse before the tornado hit the building at around 8:30 p.m. During a press conference Monday, she said that the warehouse’s shelter in place spot is an interior part of the site on the north end of the building.
“They’re marked in all of our facilities, they have shelter in place locations,” Nantel said of the designated area during an interview Sunday. “And we train our people. Within their first days, they get trained on emergency preparedness and what that means and what’s expected of them in an event.”
Not all of the workers who died on Friday night were in the warehouse’s designated shelter in place spot when the tornado struck.
Authorities released the names of the victims on the Sunday: Austin J. McEwen, 26, of Edwardsville, IL; Morrow 28, of St. Louis, MO; Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton, IL; Etheria S. Hebb, 34, of St. Louis, MO; Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville, IL; and Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle, Illinois.
Crump, of Crump Law is a civil rights attorney who’s nationally known for representing the families of people killed by police, including the family of George Floyd in its civil suit against the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hilliard, of Hilliard Martinez Gonzales, LLP, has practiced law in Texas for over 35 years and has worked on many high-profile cases. His firm represents “clients in mass torts, personal injury, product liability, commercial and business litigation and wrongful death matters,” according to its website.
Amazon could not be immediately reached for comment about the attorneys’ involvement.
“If somebody can help you share (your brother’s story) without selfish greed, then I’m all aboard because this is more than about me,” Crawford said. “It’s all about him.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 10:59 AM.
