Google Maps caused a driver to drive off a bridge that collapsed nearly 10 years ago. The man died

A North Carolina family recently filed a lawsuit against Google over the negligence of the Google Maps team.

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Philip Paxson, a medical device salesman and father of two, drowned on 30 September 2022 in a car accident. He was driving from his daughter's 9th birthday party that evening through an unfamiliar neighbourhood, so he used Google Maps prompts. The app advised him to drive over a bridge that had collapsed almost 10 years ago. Philip's car fell from a height of about 6 metres and the driver himself was killed.

"Our girls ask how and why their daddy died, and I’m at a loss for words they can understand because, as an adult, I still can’t understand how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could have acted with so little regard for human life", said the wife of the deceased, Alicia Paxson.

Police officers who worked at the scene of the accident assure that there were no barriers or warning signs on the washed-out road. As it turns out, the bridge is not maintained by local or state officials, and the original developer company has dissolved.

The lawsuit also states that Google officials knew the bridge was collapsing - several people told them about it. For example, in September 2020, a local resident used the "suggest edits" feature on the map to alert the company that the maps were directing drivers over the collapsed bridge. In November, he received an email confirming that the company had received the report and considered the suggested edit. However, Google took no further action.

A company spokesman told reporters that Google offered condolences to the family of the victim and was working hard to provide accurate route information in Maps.

Source: AP News