Google Maps allegedly caused man to drive off collapsed bridge -.

The family of a man who drowned after driving off a collapsed bridge in Hickory, North Carolina, claims Google Maps was to blame.

Philip Paxson’s family is suing Google, claiming the tech giant knew about the bridge years before Paxson’s death but had not updated its Maps service. Paxson died in September 2022 and the lawsuit was filed on Sept. 19 of this year.

Google told the BBC it was reviewing the allegations. Paxson was reportedly unfamiliar with local roads, which is why he was unaware that the bridge had collapsed until he tried to drive over it. “Tragically, while driving carefully in the darkness and rain, he unsuspectingly followed Google’s outdated directions to what his family later called the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ for nearly a decade, crashing into Snow Creek, where he drowned,” said his family’s attorneys .

According to the suit, local residents had allegedly asked Google to change its Maps service to inform road users of the collapsed bridge.

“We have the deepest sympathy for the Paxson family”, said a Google spokesperson. “Our goal is to provide accurate route information in Maps and we are looking at this lawsuit.”