Two Lawsuits Filed in New Prairie Bus Crash

LAPORTE COUNTY, Ind.–Two lawsuits have now been filed in a LaPorte County crash back in May that involved both a box truck and two New Prairie United School Corporation minibuses.

The crash happened May 8 at the intersection of U.S. 20 and Fail Road when the New Prairie JV baseball team was on its way to a game. No one was killed, but seven players and two coaches were injured. One player sustained serious injuries and got out of the hospital in September.

Court records show that one lawsuit was filed by the family of a JV baseball player who was also one of the buses. The other was filed by a man named Richard Shail. Shail is an elected New Prairie school board member and a volunteer JV baseball coach who was also on one of the buses.

Police say the driver of the box truck was Shawn Akison. He was arrested on multiple criminal charges. They believe he was under the influence of fentanyl. There were nearly 40 traffic-related cases involving Akison in Illinois. He was also arrested back in January because officers say he had veered off the road. They also say they found heroin in the truck in that incident.

At the time of the May crash, Akison is accused of transporting goods and items from the Amazon distribution center in South Bend to Illinois when it happened. Both lawsuits have named Amazon as defendants in the lawsuit. Akison was driving for Elite Courier, which the lawsuit says is an unrated motor carrier.

“The Amazon Defendants do not conduct any safety investigation into motor carriers or truck drivers beyond verifying current operating authority, proof of insurance, and that the motor carrier does not have a safety rating of “Unsatisfactory.”, the plaintiffs stated.

The plaintiffs are also saying St. Joseph County was negligent because St. Joseph County police tried to pull Akison over before the crash, but they stopped their pursuit at the county line.

Akison is due in court November 7.