Family of Hillcrest teacher killed in crash files lawsuit against Amazon

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The family of Jennifer Bryant, the Hillcrest High School teacher who was killed in a crash on I-44 last January when a semi-truck hit her vehicle head-on, is filing a wrongful death suit against Amazon.

The family claimed that the retailer was carrying their products in the semi that crashed into her.

The suit claims that the driver of the semi, Bashir Mohamed, was driving while fatigued, asleep and/or distracted, leading to the crash. The semi-truck’s passenger, Abdullahi Sharifsahal, was also accused of distracting the driver, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and/or being asleep during the incident.

Court documents say Amazon was also negligent for not properly training drivers, failing to adequately evaluate drivers and companies such as freight carrier BIHI Transport before their hiring and/or encouraging drivers to take safety risks to fulfill their obligations.

The lawsuit also accuses the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) of negligence, claiming the median barrier cables between the I-44 lanes were in dangerous or defective condition, and therefore were not able to stop vehicles from crossing into the opposite lane and hitting oncoming drivers.

Ozarksfirst has reached out to Amazon for comment on this case but we have not received a response.

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