All 17-year-old Lucas Bradshaw wants is to get back on the baseball field.
But a crash last year left the high school student with severe brain injuries, putting his dreams on hold and beginning a long road to recovery.
Lucas Bradshaw, who was 16 at the time, was traveling with his team to a baseball game on May 8, 2025, when their bus was struck by a box truck driven by Shawn Akison, 42, who was traveling at 73 mph and under the influence of fentanyl in LaPorte County, Indiana.
Akison, of Romeoville, was making Amazon deliveries at the time of the crash and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Akison pleaded guilty to causing catastrophic injury when operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and causing serious bodily harm while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, officials said.
But Bradshaw’s family says the driver wasn’t the only one responsible and is seeking to hold others accountable.
A civil lawsuit, filed last week in LaPorte County Superior Court, is accusing Amazon and other defendants of negligence for failing to remove Akison – who allegedly had a history of reckless driving and drug use – as a driver.
“This isn’t just Luca’s story, this is about everybody,” Bradley Bradshaw, Lucas’ father, said Thursday morning at a news conference at a Loop law firm. “If these are controllable things that don’t need to happen, let’s make some changes.”
Bradley Bradshaw, a volunteer coach, was driving the bus the day of the crash. He was pulling up to a stop light and when he looked at the rearview mirror he realized they were seconds away from being hit.
“Every time I look in a rearview mirror I see the truck,” said Bradshaw. “It’s one thing I’m never going to get out of my mind.”
Five players and two coaches including Lucas’ dad were on the bus, and most suffered injuries. But Lucas Bradshaw was the most seriously hurt. He was ejected from the bus during the crash and knocked unconscious after landing several feet away.
He was airlifted to a hospital and suffered a traumatic brain injury, multiple brain bleeds, multiple facial fractures, a fractured arm, and other injuries. He was in a coma for about 60 days following the crash and was hospitalized and in intense therapies for more than 125 days, his family said.
Even more than a year after the crash, Lucas is still working to recover. He still has issues with his vision in his left eye, his walk is different and is mentally slow to respond.
“If you were to watch him, his gait, how he walks, you might say that he had a stroke,” said Kelly Bradshaw, Lucas’ mother.
The crash changed nearly every part of Lucas Bradshaw’s life. He missed his junior year of high school, stepped away from baseball and could no longer lend a hand on his family’s Indiana farm.
Attorneys representing the family said the crash could have been prevented.
The lawsuit names Amazon, Elite Courier, Enterprise Leasing Company, St. Joseph County and Akison as defendants. Akison was contracted through Elite Courier, hauling Amazon deliveries when the crash occurred.
Amazon argued that Akison was not an employee of Amazon.
“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,” Amazon said in a statement.
But labels don’t matter, said Nick Kamenjarin, an attorney representing the family.
“What matters is the control,” he said. “Amazon controlled virtually every aspect of Mr. Akison’s job. They monitored his performance, his safety, and they retained the authority to suspend him from the program, as well as terminating from the program.”
Kamenjarin said Amazon contracted with Elite Courier and provided Akison access to the company’s driver app, which is used to assign routes, coordinate pickups and track drivers’ locations.
The family is also suing St. Joseph County, alleging a county officer attempted to stop Akison after receiving reports of his erratic driving but ended the pursuit when Akison crossed the county line. Akison crashed into the bus shortly after.
According to the lawsuit, St. Joseph County officials never notified LaPorte County, where the crash occurred, that Akison had entered their jurisdiction or that his driving posed a potential threat.
St. Joseph County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lucas Bradshaw will return to in-person classes for his senior year in the Fall. His parents said Lucas hopes to return to playing baseball and helping with the crops at the farm.
Despite all of their struggles, the family said they were grateful for the community’s support.
“We cannot thank our community enough,” said Bradley Bradshaw. “It wasn’t just our family fighting the fight. It was a community fight. I’s been Team Lucas all the way.”