Amazon driver died in bathroom sheltering from tornado with colleagues

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill: Amazon cargo driver Austin J. McEwen, 26, was an only child who loved to listen to rapper Mac Miller and hunt with his friends. He died trying to shelter from a powerful tornado in the bathroom at an Amazon.com warehouse on Friday night, according to a coworker.

Miller was one of six workers identified by police on Sunday who were killed when their plant in Edwardsville, Illinois, buckled under the force of the devastating tornado. A swath of tornadoes ripped through six U.S. states, leaving a trail of death and destruction at homes and businesses stretching more than 200 miles (322 km).

“He was my friend and he didn’t make it,” said coworker Brian Erdmann, who was on his way to make a delivery to the warehouse. “If I would have got back 45 minutes earlier, I probably would have been at the same place. I would have been right there with him.” The other Amazon workers identified as dead by the local coroner were Deandre S. Morrow, 28, of St. Louis, Missouri; Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle, Illinois; Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton, Illinois; Etheria S. Hebb, 24, of St. Louis, Missouri; and Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville, Illinois.