"Amazon worker who died in warehouse collapse wasn’t allowed to leave, girlfriend says", 12 December 2021

One of the victims who was killed when a tornado collapsed an Amazon warehouse in Illinois texted his girlfriend before the deadly tornado struck saying that the company had ordered him to hold off driving home and stay put until the storm passed.

Larry Virden, 46, was killed Friday night when the roof came down at a massive Amazon facility.

“I got text messages from him. He always tells me when he is filling up the Amazon truck when he is getting ready to go back … I was like ‘OK, I love you.’ He’s like, ‘well Amazon won’t let me leave until after the storm blows over,’” his girlfriend of 13 years, Cherie Jones, told The Post on Sunday. 

She said the text was sent around 8:23 p.m., 16 minutes before the tornado reportedly touched down at 8:39. The couple lived in nearby Collinsville, which Jones said is about 13 minutes away from the warehouse. 

“We heard the tornado didn’t touch down until 8:39 so he had 20 minutes to get home,” she said.

“I messaged him and that was the last text message I got from him,” she said. “I told him where we live, it was only lightning at the time. After that, I got nothing from him.”...

Amazon said the Edwardsville site received a tornado warning through various alerts, and the team on site at the time worked to get as many workers and partners into a designated shelter area...

The company said...it is donating $1 million to the Edwardsville Community Foundation to support recovery efforts. Amazon also said it is reaching out to the victims’ families to see how it can support them and is additionally providing relief to other employees.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement Sunday: “We’re deeply saddened by the news that members of our Amazon family passed away as a result of the storm in Edwardsville, IL. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the tornado. We also want to thank all the first responders for their ongoing efforts on scene. We’re continuing to provide support to our employees and partners in the area.”