He Drove Off Collapsed Bridge. His Family Is Suing Google

Lawsuit says company failed to update Google Maps after it was informed of collapse years earlier
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 21, 2023 4:08 AM CDT
Lawsuit: Google's Failure to Update Map Was Deadly
The Google Maps app is seen on a smartphone.   (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)

The family of a North Carolina man who died after driving his car off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps directions is suing the technology giant for negligence, claiming it had been informed of the collapse but failed to update its navigation system. Philip Paxson, a medical device salesman and father of two, drowned Sept. 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court. Paxson was driving home from his daughter's ninth birthday party through an unfamiliar neighborhood when Google Maps allegedly directed him to cross a bridge that had collapsed nine years prior and was never repaired, the AP reports.

"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 Paxson'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 court filing includes email records from another Hickory resident who had used the map's "suggest an edit" feature in September 2020 to alert the company that it was directing drivers over the collapsed bridge. A November 2020 email confirms Google received her report and was reviewing the suggested change, but the lawsuit claims the company took no further action.

(More Google Maps stories.)

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