A Google Maps screenshot, captured on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, showed that the service was still recommending travel over Snow Creek’s collapsed bridge. Google appeared to have fixed the issue by 5 p.m. PT.
Screenshot via Google MapsA North Carolina woman is suing Google for allegedly directing her husband across a collapsed bridge in September 2022. He followed Google Maps’ instructions, the lawsuit claims, and died after crashing.
Google Maps continued to direct traffic over the bridge and suggest it was a usable roadway until Thursday.
Alicia Paxson filed the lawsuit on behalf of her husband’s estate and herself on Sept. 19 in North Carolina’s Wake County. The complaint, viewed by SFGATE, accuses Google Maps, as well as the private owners of the collapsed bridge, of negligence — Snow Creek Bridge in Hickory, North Carolina, has allegedly been unbarricaded and still on the mapping service since it fell in 2013.
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The Mountain View-based tech company’s Maps product is one of the world’s most popular apps — a 2018 survey of mapping services by Statista found that over two-thirds of smartphone users turn to Google Maps. Easy access to route-finding and near-instantaneous mapping services have changed how people drive and plan trips.
Philip Paxson, according to the complaint, followed Google Maps’ instructions home from his daughter’s 9th birthday party in an unfamiliar neighborhood and drove off the collapsed and unbarricaded bridge in Hickory on Sept. 30, 2022.
“Google Maps directed Mr. Paxson to travel home over the Snow Creek Bridge,” the suit says. “Unbeknownst to Mr. Paxson, a very large section of the Snow Creek Bridge had collapsed in 2013 and was never repaired.” Paxson drowned in the creek, the suit says.
The suit goes on to allege that local residents had fought for years to have the bridge repaired or barricaded, and residents reported the spot multiple times using Google Maps’ “Suggest an edit” feature. But the road remained usable on Google Maps routes.
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When SFGATE checked the bridge on the platform Thursday afternoon, Google Maps was still suggesting the road as a safe line of travel. The platform appeared to have fixed the problem by 5 p.m. PT.
“We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family,” Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement to SFGATE. “Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit.” The firm did not respond to SFGATE’s question about why the road still showed up as accessible or about the notices the lawsuit says were sent to Google, describing the bridge’s disrepair.
Hear of anything happening at Google or another tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at [email protected] or on Signal at 628-204-5452.