Family of Hillcrest Teacher Killed in Car Crash Suing Amazon

The family of a former teacher at Hillcrest High School in Springfield who was killed in a car crash is now filing a lawsuit against E-commerce giant Amazon.

45-year-old Jennifer Bryant was driving on I-44 in January of last year when she was hit head-on by a semi that was travelling westbound and passed the cable barrier that separated the two sides of the highway.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bryant taught biology and science at Hillcrest for over 20 years at the time of her death.

In the lawsuit, her family alleges that Amazon is liable because the semi was carrying their products, and the driver of the semi-truck was driving while fatigued, and possibly distracted.

It also accuses the company of failing to properly train drivers and failure to adequately evaluate drivers and the companies they use to move products.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) is also named in the lawsuit, claiming the cable barrier was in defective condition, and not up to the proper standards for roadway safety.