Google sued for negligence after man drove off collapsed bridge while following map directions

RALEIGH, N.C. — The circle of relatives of a North Carolina man who died after riding his automobile off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps directions is suing the era large for negligence, claiming it have been knowledgeable of the cave in however did not replace its navigation gadget.

Philip Paxson, a scientific instrument salesman and father of 2, drowned Sept. 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory, in line with a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court. Paxson was once riding house from his daughter’s 9th celebration thru an unfamiliar group when Google Maps allegedly directed him to pass a bridge that had collapsed 9 years prior and was once by no means repaired.

“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,” his wife, Alicia Paxson, said.

State troopers who found Paxton’s body in his overturned and partially submerged truck had said there were no barriers or warning signs along the washed-out roadway. He had driven off an unguarded edge and crashed about 20 feet below, according to the lawsuit.

The North Carolina State Patrol had said the bridge was not maintained by local or state officials, and the original developer’s company had dissolved. The lawsuit names several private property management companies that it claims are responsible for the bridge and the adjoining land.

Multiple people had notified Google Maps about the collapse in the years leading up to Paxson’s death and had urged the company to update its route information, according to the lawsuit.

The Tuesday court filing includes email records from another Hickory resident who had used the map’s “suggest an edit” characteristic in September 2020 to alert the corporate that it was once directing drivers over the collapsed bridge. A November 2020 e-mail affirmation from Google confirms the corporate gained her record and was once reviewing the instructed alternate, however the lawsuit claims Google took no additional movements.

“We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family,” Google spokesperson José Castañeda told The Associated Press. “Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit.”

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Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit nationwide provider program that puts reporters in native newsrooms to record on undercovered problems.