The deadly March 2025 pileup on Interstate 35 in North Austin has produced a wave of Austin truck accident lawsuits seeking well over $150 million from the driver, his trucking company, Amazon Logistics, and a highway construction contractor. Survivors and the families of the five people killed have filed separate suits in Travis County and Dallas County, alleging negligent driving, negligent hiring and supervision, and an unsafe construction work zone.1CBS Austin. Amazon, ZBN Transport Deny Liability in Fatal 18-Vehicle I-35 Crash
What Happened on I-35
At about 11:20 p.m. on March 13, 2025, a 2016 Volvo tractor-trailer hauling an Amazon-branded load failed to slow for stopped traffic on southbound I-35 near Parmer Lane and Howard Lane. The truck struck a Volkswagen Jetta and a Chevrolet Silverado, setting off a chain-reaction collision that involved at least 18 vehicles across roughly 500 feet of highway.1CBS Austin. Amazon, ZBN Transport Deny Liability in Fatal 18-Vehicle I-35 Crash The crash happened inside an active construction zone where three lanes had been narrowed to one for overnight resurfacing, with the speed limit reduced from 70 to 60 mph.2NTSB. HWY25MH005 Investigation Page
Five people died at the scene, including two minor children. Three victims have been publicly identified: Sergieo Daniel Lopez, 32; Natalia Helena Perez, 25; and Ma Concepcion Joaquin De Joaquin, 78. Eleven other people were hospitalized, at least two with life-threatening injuries.3KXAN. Some Victims of Deadly I-35 Crash Identified
Who Is Being Sued and for How Much
At least five civil cases have been filed. The defendants overlap: driver Solomun Weldekeal-Araya and his employer ZBN Transport, LLC appear in every suit; Amazon Logistics is named in most; and Pulice Construction and McNeil Brothers are named by plaintiffs who argue the work zone itself was defective.
Nathan Jonard — $100 Million
Jonard, a survivor, filed the first major suit on March 20, 2025, in the 455th Judicial District Court of Travis County (Case No. D-1-GN-25-002009). He is seeking more than $100 million from Weldekeal-Araya, ZBN Transport, and Amazon Logistics.4FileHandler. Jonard v. Amazon Logistics et al. Petition His injuries include multiple broken ribs and other fractures, a dissected neck artery that required surgery, a herniated disc, and deep lacerations.5Austin American-Statesman. I-35 Crash Austin Texas Lawsuits
Francisco Villalobos and Priscilla Davila — $100 Million Each
The two Temple residents filed suit on March 26, 2025, naming Weldekeal-Araya, ZBN Transport, Amazon, and Pulice Construction. Their attorneys say each is seeking more than $100 million.6KXAN. I-35 Crash Victims File Lawsuit Against Construction Company, Others Both suffered brain bleeds, fractures, and organ damage, according to counsel.7KVUE. Austin Interstate 35 Pileup Crash Lawsuit
Wrongful Death Suits
Families of all five people killed have sued. The parents of Sergieo Daniel Lopez and his child filed in Dallas County on March 21, 2025, against Weldekeal-Araya and ZBN Transport, seeking more than $1 million. Natalia Perez’s family filed a separate Dallas County petition for the same amount.7KVUE. Austin Interstate 35 Pileup Crash Lawsuit Attorney Domingo Garcia filed a $50 million wrongful death suit in Dallas County on behalf of the estate of Maria Concepcion Joaquin, who is survived by 11 children and 40 grandchildren. That case names Weldekeal-Araya, ZBN Transport, Amazon Logistics, Pulice, and McNeil Brothers.8MySanAntonio. I-35 Maria Joaquin Natalia Perez Sergieo Lopez
The Negligence Claims Against Each Defendant
The driver. The suits allege Weldekeal-Araya was impaired by central nervous system depressants at the time of the crash, failed to maintain a safe following distance, and attempted to leave the scene. An independent lab later found no alcohol or drugs in his system, and the state replaced the initial intoxication charges, but the civil petitions still include the impairment allegation along with the driving conduct claims.9CBS Austin. Man Files $100 Million Lawsuit Against Amazon, Driver After Fatal 18-Vehicle I-35 Crash
ZBN Transport. Plaintiffs accuse ZBN of negligent hiring, training, supervision, and entrustment. An NTSB investigation found the company had no formal written hiring process. The owner recruited drivers from the local Eritrean community and required only a valid CDL and clean motor vehicle record, with final screening left to the insurance provider. ZBN kept no written records of driver road tests. The company’s vehicle tracking recorded 36 instances of speeding and 10 instances of hard braking by Weldekeal-Araya in the two weeks before the crash, with no records of corrective action or coaching. ZBN was unable to obtain insurance after the crash and went out of business, which may limit how much any plaintiff can collect from the company directly.10KXAN. Deadly I-35 Crash Report DMV Issued Wrong CDL, Trucking Company Kept Minimal Records
A separate NTSB finding bears on the hiring claims: Texas DPS had issued Weldekeal-Araya a standard commercial driver’s license when, based on his immigration status, he should have received a non-domiciled CDL that would have expired years before the crash. His required medical certificate had also expired about two weeks before the collision, and his license was due to be downgraded as a result.11Austin American-Statesman. I-35 Austin Crash Cause NTSB Documents
Pulice Construction. Pulice holds a $606 million contract with the Texas Department of Transportation for the I-35 Capital Express North project. The Villalobos and Davila suit alleges the company created a “high-risk environment for traffic backups” by funneling three lanes into one, providing inadequate merge distance, and improperly spacing warning signs.6KXAN. I-35 Crash Victims File Lawsuit Against Construction Company, Others The NTSB is also examining work zone design at the project site.12KUT. I-35 Semi Truck Deadly Crash North Austin Driver Toxicology
Can Amazon Be Held Liable for a Contractor’s Driver?
This is the central legal fight in the civil cases. Amazon filed a general denial, asserting that Weldekeal-Araya “was not an employee, borrowed employee, or agent” of the company and that Amazon “did not have the right to direct or control the details of any work” he performed.13News 4 San Antonio. Amazon, ZBN Transport Deny Liability in Fatal 18-Vehicle I-35 Crash ZBN Transport invoked comparative fault, asking that responsibility be apportioned among all parties.1CBS Austin. Amazon, ZBN Transport Deny Liability in Fatal 18-Vehicle I-35 Crash
Plaintiffs are challenging that arm’s-length framing, arguing Amazon shared responsibility for vetting, training, and supervising a driver with a documented history of hours-of-service and hazardous moving violations.9CBS Austin. Man Files $100 Million Lawsuit Against Amazon, Driver After Fatal 18-Vehicle I-35 Crash Juries elsewhere have been willing to pierce the contractor shield. A 2023 South Carolina jury awarded $44.6 million after finding Amazon liable for a delivery-service-partner driver’s negligence, and a 2024 Georgia jury awarded $16.2 million and assigned Amazon 85% of the responsibility based on evidence of the company’s control over routing, metrics, and real-time monitoring.14KSAT. Man Injured in Deadly 17-Vehicle Crash on I-35 Files Lawsuit Against Driver, Amazon, and Transport Company Whether the Austin cases follow a similar path will turn on how much operational control Amazon exercised over ZBN and its drivers.
Where the Criminal Case Stands
The civil suits move independently of the criminal case, but the criminal record will feed into civil discovery. On September 23, 2025, a Travis County grand jury indicted Weldekeal-Araya on 22 felony counts: five counts of manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, and 15 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, all second-degree felonies.15CBS Austin. Truck Driver Indicted on 22 Felony Counts in Deadly 16-Vehicle I-35 Crash The indictment replaced the original intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault charges after an independent lab reported no alcohol or drugs in his system.12KUT. I-35 Semi Truck Deadly Crash North Austin Driver Toxicology His bond was reduced from $1.2 million to $7,000 in late April 2025, and he was released under GPS monitoring, random drug testing, an ignition interlock, and a prohibition on driving commercial vehicles.16KSAT. Bond Reduced From $1.2 Million to $7K The case is in the 427th District Court for Travis County, with a next court date in May 2026; legal experts cited in reporting estimate the case could take one to two years to reach trial.
What’s Still to Come
The National Transportation Safety Board opened a formal investigation (HWY25MH005) and released a factual docket in March 2026. Investigators have confirmed no evidence of a medical emergency and noted the negative toxicology results. The analysis, probable cause determination, and safety recommendations will arrive in a final report that could land 12 to 24 months after the crash.17CBS Austin. NTSB New Details on Driver’s Health, Phone Use, Sleep Before Deadly March 2025 I-35 Crash That report, along with discovery about Amazon’s control over ZBN’s operations and the design of the Pulice work zone, is likely to shape settlement talks and any eventual trial in the civil cases.
A separate wrongful death suit in the Austin area, filed by the family of Jonathon Scott Morgan after a September 2025 Georgetown overpass crash involving driver Alan Brendan Collins and Austin Underground Incorporated, is unrelated to the I-35 pileup litigation and involves different defendants and allegations.18Yahoo News. Catastrophic Injuries Family Suing Truck