A high-powered Los Angeles couple is suing Google Maps for allegedly sending them to a dangerous South African neighborhood known as “Hell Run” — where they were brutally attacked at gunpoint, breaking the husband’s jaw.
Jason and Katharine Zoladz, who are regional directors of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s LA office, used the app in October to navigate from their Airbnb to Cape Town’s airport, the Mercury News reported.
They plan to trade in their rental car for an SUV to drive to a wildlife preserve in the Kalahari Desert, the outlet said, citing a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The pair claimed Google Maps directed them to the Nyanga neighbourhood, long known as the site of “numerous” violent attacks on tourists by armed bandits – and despite warnings from the tech giant from the US and local officials about the wrong direction.
“A group of robbers would wait for tourists boarding a rental car” and would “attack the car by throwing bricks or large rocks through the car window, violently assault the occupants, and steal valuables,” the indictment reportedly states.
Victims are left “injured, maimed, or dead,” he added.
Google Maps directed the pair to the famous highway nicknamed “Hell Run” because of the violent attacks on tourists who wandered into the area, according to the filing.
A Los Angeles couple is suing Google Maps for allegedly sending them to a dangerous South African neighborhood known as Deyan’s “Hell Run” – stock.adobe.com
Nearby New Eisleben Street was known as a “prime site” for the attack because “the group knew that Google Maps was sending unsuspecting tourists driving rental cars” along it, the suit alleges, according to the Mercury News.
When Zoladze stopped at a red light, armed thugs surrounded their vehicle.
“One of them threw a brick through the driver’s side window, breaking Jason Zoladz’s lower jaw into pieces, cutting his skin and muscle to the bone, and rendering him unconscious,” the indictment reportedly states.
The gunman pulled the couple from the car, fired several shots and stole their cash, credit cards and cell phones before fleeing, according to the report.
The couple claimed Google Maps directed them to the Nyanga neighborhood, long known as the site of “many” violent attacks on tourists by armed bandits. derejeb – stock.adobe.com
Jason was left “bloodied and disoriented as he and Katharine tried to navigate to the hospital or to the police station,” according to the lawsuit.
After being escorted to the hospital by a police officer, Jason underwent three hours of reconstructive surgery and “now lives with four metal plates in his jaw, constant pain and numbness, and faces the possibility of future surgeries,” the lawsuit says.
Katharine was left with lasting emotional damage, she said.
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A consular official at the hospital said “other Americans have been attacked along the same route and that US and South African officials have been talking to Google Maps for a while, trying to get Google Maps to stop sending people along that route,” it said.
Cape Town officials later told the couple that they had also tried to meet with Google Maps officials about the issue, according to their allegations.
The company agreed to stop Google Maps from directing people through the dangerous area three weeks after the brutal attack, the suit alleges.
“That was too late for Zoladzes,” he said.
The company agreed to stop Google Maps from directing people through the dangerous area three weeks after the brutal attack, the suit alleges. Google Street View
“We take driver safety seriously and are reviewing the lawsuit,” a Google spokesperson told The Post. “We consider various factors to deliver routes – such as road size, viability and estimated travel time – and continue to work to improve our routing.”
The couple is seeking unspecified damages.
The SEC announced on November 29 that Katharine was appointed regional director of the agency’s LA office.
He joined the agency in 2010 and served as acting co-director since June 2023 and as associate regional director for enforcement since October 2019, according to his bio.
Prior to joining the SEC, Katharine practiced securities and complex commercial litigation.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in international politics from Georgetown University and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
