The family of a North Carolina man who died after driving off a collapsed bridge as he followed directions on Google Maps is suing the tech giant for negligence, saying it failed to update its navigation system after the span was washed away nine years earlier.
Philip Paxson was driving home from his eldest son’s birthday party on Sept. 30, 2022, when his Jeep plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory, drowning him, according to a lawsuit filed by his family on Tuesday.
The 47-year-old father of two was unfamiliar with the neighborhood as he drove on a dark, stormy night and was directed by Google Maps across a bridge that had collapsed nearly a decade earlier and had never been repaired.
“Our girls asked how and why their father died, and I ran out of words that they could understand because, as an adult, I still don’t understand how those responsible for the GPS direction and the bridge could act like that. less regard for human life,” said his wife, Alicia Paxson.
There are no barriers or warning signs along the road, which was washed away and never repaired after the 2013 flood.
Paxon’s car plunged off an uncontrolled edge and crashed 20 feet below, according to the lawsuit. State troopers found his body inside his overturned and partially submerged Jeep.
The family of a North Carolina man who died after driving off a collapsed bridge as he followed directions on Google Maps is suing the tech giant for negligence.Philip Paxson/Facebook
Multiple people told Google Maps about the broken bridge in the years leading up to Paxson’s death — prompting the company to update its route information — but nothing was ever done, the lawsuit alleges.
The filing also includes records of an email from another Hickory resident who used Google Maps’ “suggest and edit” feature in September 2020 to alert Google that it was sending drivers over a collapsed bridge.
A second email from November 2020 indicates the company received the report and is reviewing proposed changes. The lawsuit alleges 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 the original developer has gone out of business.
Multiple people told Google Maps about the damaged bridge in the years leading up to Paxson’s death — prompting the company to update its route information — but nothing was ever done, the lawsuit alleges.WCNC
The lawsuit names Hickory businessman James Tarlton and his companies Tarde LLC and Hinckley Gauvain LLC as owners of the bridge and surrounding land, the Hickory Record reported.
Tarlton, Tarde and Hinckley Gauvain were accused of failing to repair the damaged bridge and provide adequate 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 press 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 as he drove on a dark, stormy night and was directed by Google Maps across a bridge that had collapsed nearly a decade earlier and had never been repaired. WCNC
The obituary for Paxson said that he “had a lifelong love of muscle cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, boats, really anything with a motor.”
“He traveled the world with his father-in-law riding a motorcycle. He and his wife and their two daughters enjoy camping and boating with family and friends. Phil put his family first and his friends, almost equally, second,” the obituary said.
“He was larger than life, always up for an adventure, with a permanent smile on his face, he would give you the shirt off his back or talk you out of yours.”
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
