A picture of what was locally known as the “Bridge to Nowhere” in Hickory, North Carolina. Inset top: Alicia Paxson and her husband, Philip, who died after his car drove over a washed-out bridge that was part of a route advised by Google Maps. Inset bottom: Philip Paxon’s car after the incident. (Images via law firm of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky.)
The family of a man who drowned after his car drove off a washed-out bridge that was part of a Google Maps route in the dark of night has sued the tech giant, alleging that it ignored warning signs of the road’s dangerous condition.
Philip Paxson, 47, drowned after his Jeep Gladiator crashed into a creek as he was driving home in Hickory, North Carolina, late at night on Sept. 30, 2022. He was following directions provided by Google Maps, which allegedly instructed him to take a route that included the bridge — even though it had been unusable for nine years, having collapsed in 2013.
Paxson, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and medical device salesman, had moved to Hickory from Florida with his family, including his two young daughters, ages 7 and 9, in the summer of 2020. He was driving home from a birthday party for his daughter held at a friend’s house when the crash happened.
