Overview
- The crash occurred on May 8, 2025, when a box truck struck a LaPorte County school bus and 16-year-old Lucas Bradshaw was ejected, suffering a severe traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures, a 54-day coma and more than $1.2 million in medical bills.
- Driver Shawn Akison pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated causing catastrophic and serious injury and was sentenced to prison under a plea agreement with reported terms of roughly eight to nine years.
- The family’s lawsuit filed in LaPorte County Superior Court names Amazon entities, the third‑party carrier Elite Courier, Enterprise Leasing, St. Joseph County and Akison, alleging the companies failed to detect decades of driving violations, license suspensions and substance-related incidents.
- Plaintiffs say Akison was hauling Amazon freight through the company’s Relay app when the crash happened and accuse St. Joseph County deputies of ending a pursuit at a county line without notifying LaPorte County about the ongoing danger.
- Beyond damages for Lucas, the case could test whether freight brokers and platform-run delivery networks can be held to state-law negligent hiring and monitoring duties under a May 2026 Supreme Court decision, with defendants expected to respond as litigation proceeds.