An Indiana Amazon delivery driver was allegedly under the influence of fentanyl when he slammed into a school bus last year, causing a teenage baseball player to suffer catastrophic brain injuries, according to a newly filed lawsuit.
Lucas Bradshaw, who was 16 at the time, was traveling with his teammates to a baseball game in 2025 when their bus was hit by a box truck driven by Shawn Akison, a 42-year-old Amazon delivery driver, in LaPorte County.
The force of the crash threw Lucas from the bus, leaving him unconscious at the scene. He was flown to a hospital with severe traumatic brain injuries, several broken bones and respiratory failure.
Akison later pleaded guilty to charges connected to the near-deadly collision. In April, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, followed by three years of probation, according to WSBT 22 News.
In the lawsuit filed Thursday, Lucas’ parents claim Akison was making Amazon deliveries while impaired by fentanyl when he drove into the team’s bus, according to WNDU News.
Lucas sustained a Grade III diffuse axonal injury in the crash, which the lawsuit describes as the most severe type of traumatic brain injury. His parents said he also suffered multiple brain hemorrhages, facial fractures and a broken arm.
“His gait, watch him walk, you would assume he probably had a stroke,” Kelley Bradshaw, Lucas’ mother, told Fox 32 Chicago News.
Lucas underwent emergency brain surgery and remained in a coma for 52 days. He then spent 125 days in intensive rehabilitation, facing life-altering injuries that include permanent memory and vision loss, weakness on his left side and impaired mobility.
Lucas Bradshaw, then 16, was riding to a baseball game with his teammates in May 2025 when their bus was struck by an Amazon box truck in LaPorte County, Indiana
The driver, 42-year-old Shawn Akison, was allegedly under the influence of fentanyl when he barreled into the high school team’s bus, according to a new civil lawsuit
Lucas suffered a Grade III diffuse axonal injury from the impact, which is described in the lawsuit as the most severe form of traumatic brain injury, according to the filing
The collision came just minutes after police called off a pursuit of Akison and left six other players, two coaches and Lucas’ father, who was driving the bus at the time, injured.
Bradley Bradshaw, a volunteer coach for his son’s team, recalled pulling up to a stoplight and glancing in the rearview mirror, only to realize they were seconds away from being hit.
‘We were slowing down for a stoplight, and he was still going,’ the father told Fox. ‘I remember yelling to the boys, “We’re about to get hit.” It was mass chaos.’
Lucas’ parents filed a 13-count civil lawsuit in Chicago on Thursday morning, alleging Akison was impaired by fentanyl and had just looked at his Amazon app on his phone before driving 75 mph in a 45 mph zone on May 8, 2025.
The New Prairie JV baseball team was en route to a game in two minibuses when Akison crashed into the back of one of the vehicles at the intersection of US 20 and Fail Road.
‘Every time I look in a rearview mirror I see the truck. It’s one thing I’m never going to get out of my mind,’ Bradley said.
According to the filing, Lucas suffered the most severe injuries after being ejected more than 70 feet from the bus and airlifted unconscious to South Bend Memorial Hospital.
‘He had his bone flap removed, so it released the pressure on his brain,’ Kelley Bradshaw, Lucas’ mother, told the outlet, adding that he is still ‘mentally slower to respond.’
Luca, who also suffered multiple brain hemorrhages, facial fractures and a broken arm, spent 125 days in intensive rehabilitation after emergency brain surgery and 52 days in a coma
The crash left six other players – two coaches and Lucas’ father, who was driving the bus at the time – injured
According to the filing, Lucas suffered the most severe injuries after being ejected more than 70 feet from the bus and airlifted unconscious to the hospital
‘As the neurosurgeon explained to us, we’re waiting on the brain,’ she added.
Nick Kamenjarin, an attorney representing the family, told Fox: ‘The crash and the violence of the crash caused the bus to overturn, and Lucas was ejected from the bus. He was found about 75 feet from the bus.’
Just hours before the crash, Lucas was a typical New Prairie High School student in New Carlisle, focused on baseball, his classes and life on his family’s farm.
Now, Kamenjarin said his life is shaped by permanent brain injuries – including significant cognitive impairment – and working to walk like he once did after 10 procedures and countless hours of physical and occupational therapy.
Lucas’ parents said their medical bills have already surpassed $1.2 million and continue to rise as their son faces a long road to recovery.
But they said the lawsuit is about more than the staggering costs – it’s about the future they believe was stolen from their son and holding others accountable for the horrific crash.
‘That’s what this case is about, a 16-year-old who was robbed of the upper classman baseball opportunities he had, the agriculture opportunities,’ Kamenjarin, partner with Lane Brown, LLC, told the outlet.
The lawsuit, filed this week in LaPorte County Superior Court, names Amazon and several other companies, alleging they failed to vet their workers and prevent an unsafe commercial driver from getting behind the wheel.
Lucas will suffer life-changing injuries from the crash, including permanent memory and vision loss, left-sided weakness and impaired mobility
Lucas’ parents said their medical bills have already surpassed $1.2 million and continue to rise as their son faces a long road to recovery
The family’s lawsuit named Amazon and several other companies, alleging that they failed to vet their workers and prevent an unsafe commercial driver from getting behind the wheel
‘Amazon controlled virtually every aspect of Mr Akison’s job,’ the family attorney told the outlet.
‘They monitored his performance, his safety, and they retained the authority to suspend him from the program, as well as terminating from the program,’ he added.
Lucas’ parents argued that the company allowed him to continue hauling its freight despite nearly 20 years of driving violations, including one just four months before the crash.
In the weeks leading up to the tragedy, Akison was arrested for felony heroin possession while allegedly on an Amazon route, according to WNDU.
According to Kamenjarin, ‘He was the subject of multiple 911 calls back in January in connection to driving a commercial box truck erratically and recklessly and almost hitting several motorists.’
‘All of the red flags and warning signs were there for Amazon to pick up on and disqualify him as a driver,’ he added, according to Fox.
Amazon, meanwhile, argued that Akison was not employed by the company.
In a statement to the Sun-Times, Amazon said: ‘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.’
Lucas’ parents argued that Amazon allowed Akison to continue hauling its freight despite nearly 20 years of driving violations (stock image)
The lawsuit claimed that Akison had just looked at his Amazon app on his phone before driving 75 mph in a 45 mph zone on May 8, 2025
Akison pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the near-fatal crash and was sentenced in April to nine years behind bars, followed by three years of probation
Elite Courier, a third-party trucking company in Naperville that employed Akison, was also named in the lawsuit. At the time of the crash, he was hauling an Amazon load through the company’s Relay program.
According to Kamenjarin, Amazon worked with the company and supplied Akison with its driver app, a tool used to assign routes, coordinate deliveries and track drivers in real time.
Lucas’ parents also claimed that Amazon ignored its own background check requirements, which they argue allowed Akison to drive on behalf of the company despite his record.
Officials later confirmed that he was behind the wheel of the box truck while under the influence of hard drugs.
The family’s filing also named St Joseph County, claiming an officer attempted to pull Akison over after reports of erratic driving but called off the pursuit once he crossed into another county.
Just moments later, Akison struck the bus.
According to the lawsuit, St Joseph County officials never alerted LaPorte County that Akison had crossed into its jurisdiction or that his driving behavior posed a potential threat.
‘This isn’t just Lucas’s story, this is about everybody,’ Bradley said, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
Lucas’ mother said that her son has had 10 procedures and countless hours of physical and occupational therapy
The devastating collision came just minutes after police called off a pursuit of Akison for driving ‘erratically’
After spending his junior year receiving homebound instruction, Lucas plans to return to the classroom this fall on a reduced schedule and graduate next spring
‘If these are controllable things that don’t need to happen, let’s make some changes,’ he added.
Akison later pleaded guilty to charges of Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) causing catastrophic injury and OWI causing serious bodily injury.
In April, the courtroom was packed with no empty seats as Akison arrived for sentencing wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles.
His daughter spoke on his behalf, telling the court that her father was a caring person who dedicated himself to helping others and had a difficult time following his wife’s death, according to WSBT.
Akison then apologized, directly addressing Lucas and a coach. He said he had been praying for Lucas and even wrote him a letter.
The judge said life comes down to choices, and those decisions carry consequences. Looking at Akison’s criminal record, she said he had numerous opportunities to make better choices and turn his life around, but never did.
Lucas’ family’s civil lawsuit will now move forward through the legal process as the defendants prepare their responses to the allegations.
After spending his junior year receiving homebound instruction, Lucas plans to return to the classroom this fall on a reduced schedule and graduate next spring.
