--- title: "Family Sues Google for Fatally Telling Father to Drive Off Collapsed Bridge" description: "The family of a North Carolina man is suing Google, claiming Google Maps directions made the father drive his car off a bridge last year." date: "2023-09-21" modified: "2023-09-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/family-sues-google-telling-father-drive-off-bridge" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" tags: - "Google" - "google maps" - "the digest" --- # Family Sues Google for Fatally Telling Father to Drive Off Collapsed Bridge ![The family of a North Carolina man is suing Google, claiming Google Maps directions made the father drive his car off a bridge last year.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Mind the Gap The family of a tragically deceased North Carolina man is suing Google for negligence, claiming Google Maps told the father of two to drive his car off a collapsed bridge last year. Philip Paxson drowned after plowing his Jeep Gladiator off the bridge, plunging 20 feet into a creek below in September 2022, [the *Associated Press* reports](). It's an awful death that could've been avoided with a simple navigation system update, his family claims, but whether Google will end up being found guilty remains to be seen. ## Bridge Collapse According to the suit, Paxson was directed to drive over a bridge that had collapsed nine years ago and remained unrepaired since. Over that near-decade, the family alleges that Google hadn't updated its maps despite numerous users pointing out the collapse. Worse yet, there were no barriers or signs that could've warned drivers. "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," said Paxson's wife Alicia in a statement. ## Inaccurate Routing So who's at fault? The North Carolina State Patrol said the original developer in charge of the bridge had dissolved, per the *AP*. The lawsuit lists several private property management companies as responsible. Unsurprisingly, Google didn't have much to add and will likely fight the suit in court, if it ever comes to that. "We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family," Google spokesperson José Castañeda told the *AP*. "Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit." **More on Google:** *[Google Made an AI-Generated Fake the First Result for "Tank Man"]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()