Thread by @SheInvestigates

1/When I wrote about people killed by drivers delivering Amazon packages, a reader sent me this tip: Google Joy Covey.

2/Joy Covey was Amazon’s first CFO. She died in a 2013 cycling crash when a delivery van turned left in front of her. The driver, a subcontractor, testified the ‘vast majority’ of his deliveries were for Amazon. Covey was only 50 and had an 8 year-old son.

3/ Her death coincided with the birth of Amazon’s delivery division. @BuzzFeedNews and @ProPublica teamed up to investigate how the managers inside Amazon Logistics approached safety from its earliest days.

4/ Losing someone critical to the early success of Amazon in a delivery crash could have been the impetus to build a system rooted in safety. We found it wasn't.

5/Our new investigation found that Amazon quashed or delayed safety initiatives that were at odds with its goals of rapidly building a delivery network that was fast, efficient and cheap.
propublica.org/article/inside…

6/Amazon built a system with what one manager called ‘a maniacal focus’ on packing as many boxes into a route as possible. People died when those drivers crashed. Here is ProPublica’s earlier investigation of those deaths:
features.propublica.org/amazon-deliver…

7/ And here is BuzzFeed News earlier investigation of those crashes and the exploitation of delivery drivers:
buzzfeednews.com/article/caroli…

8/If you like investigations like this, @ProPublica has a newsletter or you. Sign up for it here: propub.li/2LdoRh6