Status: 22.09.2023, 20:30 p.m.
By: Sebastian Oppenheimer
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A 47-year-old was killed in a collapsed bridge with his jeep in the United States. The widow sees the blame for the accident on Google Maps – and is now suing.
Again and again, highly dangerous situations occur when road users rely too much on their navigation system. In Hawaii, for example, not so long ago, a tourist drove her van into the harbor basin and at Lake Wolfgang in Austria, a German vacationer got stuck on a hiking trail. In the U.S. state of North Carolina, an apparently similar case has now ended fatally: A 47-year-old had fallen into a river with his car and drowned. His family blames Google Maps – and is now suing the company.
Collapsed bridge: Jeep driver allegedly follows Google Maps information – and drowns in river
The accident, which is reported by numerous US media, occurred on September 30, 2022. Medical equipment salesman Phil Paxson was on his way home from a camping party celebrating his daughter's ninth birthday at the time, according to the New York Times. Google Maps allegedly led him to a bridge, which collapsed in 2013 and was not repaired afterwards. According to the New York Post, it was a stormy night and Paxson was unfamiliar with the area. Finally, the 47-year-old crashed his jeep into Snow Creek at the said spot – and drowned.
In the U.S., the widow of a fatally injured driver is suing Google. (Symbolic image) © Bihlmayerfotografie/Imago
Lawsuit against Google: Allegedly, the erroneous navigation data was pointed out several times
According to the report, there were no barriers or warning signs along the roadway leading to the collapsed bridge. The next day, police officers discovered the body of the 47-year-old in the jeep stuck in the water.
Now Paxson's widow is suing Google for negligence: The Internet giant failed to update its app – even though the bridge had collapsed nine years before the accident. According to the New York Post, according to the lawsuit, in the years leading up to the 47-year-old's death, several people informed Google Maps about the collapsed bridge and asked the company to update its data. But nothing happened.
