The family of a North Carolina man who died after falling off a collapsed bridge while following directions given on Google Maps is suing the tech giant for negligence, alleging it failed to update its navigation system after the span went missing nine years. before.
Philip Paxson was driving home from his oldest daughter’s birthday party on Sept. 30, 2022, when his Jeep plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory, causing him to drown, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by his family.
The 47-year-old father of two was unfamiliar with the neighborhood he was driving through on a dark and stormy night and Google Maps guided him across a bridge that collapsed nearly a decade earlier and was never repaired.
“Our girls ask how and why their dad died, and I am left without words they can understand because, as an adult, I still cannot understand how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could have acted with such little respect for human life. ”said his wife, Alicia Paxson.
There were no barriers or warning signs along the road, which had been washed away and never repaired after a 2013 flood.
Paxon’s car fell over an unprotected shoulder and crashed 20 feet below, according to the lawsuit. State troopers discovered his body inside his overturned and partially submerged Jeep.
The family of a North Carolina man who died after falling off a collapsed bridge while following directions given on Google Maps is suing the tech giant for negligence.Philip Paxson/Facebook
Several people told Google Maps about the broken bridge in the years before Paxson’s death, urging the company to update their route information, but nothing was ever done, the lawsuit alleges.
The filing also includes email records from another Hickory resident who used Google Maps’ “suggest and edit” feature in September 2020 to inform Google that he was sending drivers over the collapsed bridge.
A second email from November 2020 shows that the company received the report and was reviewing the suggested change. The lawsuit claims that even after receiving the report, the tech giant took no further action.
The bridge is not maintained by local or state officials, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said, and its original developer has since dissolved.
Several people reported the broken bridge to Google Maps in the years before Paxson’s death, urging the company to update their route information, but nothing was ever done, the lawsuit alleges.WCNC
The lawsuit names Hickory businessman James Tarlton and companies Tarde LLC and Hinckley Gauvain LLC as owners of the bridge and surrounding land, the Hickory Record reported.
Tarlton, Tarde and Hinckley Gauvain are accused of failing to repair the damaged bridge and failing to provide enough lighting to prevent people from crashing into Snow Creek.
The lawsuit was filed in Wake County, North Carolina, because of Google’s presence in the state, Alicia Paxson’s attorney, Robert Zimmerman, said during a news conference Wednesday.
“It still doesn’t seem real,” his grieving widow said during a news conference Wednesday.
The 47-year-old father of two was unfamiliar with the neighborhood he was driving through on a dark and stormy night and Google Maps guided him across a bridge that collapsed nearly a decade earlier and was never repaired. WCNC
An obituary for Paxson said he “had a lifelong affection for muscle cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, boats, really anything with a motor.”
“He traveled the world with his father-in-law on a motorcycle. He, his wife, and his two daughters enjoyed camping and boating with family and friends. “Phil put his family first and his friends, almost equally, second,” the obituary states.
“He was larger than life, always ready for an adventure, with a permanent smile on his face, he would give you the shirt he was wearing or talk you out of yours.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn