Dad of 2 died after driving off collapsed bridge, family says. Now, Google being sued
After his 9-year-old daughter’s impromptu camping-themed birthday party at a friend’s house in Hickory, North Carolina, Phil Paxson said goodbye to his wife and daughters and stayed back to help clean up from the festivities.
It was dark and rainy out, so the 47-year-old dad of two plugged his home address into Google Maps and followed the approximately 4.3-mile, 10-minute route on his phone. But the GPS directions took him to Snow Creek Bridge — which had partially collapsed in 2013.
That’s when Paxson’s Jeep Gladiator plunged 20 feet from the road into a creek. Paxson drowned that night on Sept. 30, 2022.
Typically, barricades are in place to prevent drivers from crossing the bridge, North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. But the barricades had been removed after being vandalized and were missing at the time of Paxson’s wreck.
Now, his widow has filed a lawsuit against Google LLC, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Tarde LLC, James Tarlton and Hickley Gauvain LLC. The suit was filed Sept. 19 in the North Carolina Superior Court in Wake County, where Google has a registered office.
The suit alleges that Google ignored complaints from citizens about the washed out bridge, failing to update their maps and investigate reports from users to maintain “safe and navigable roadways.”
As of April 2023, Google Maps still showed the bridge as passable, according to the suit.
Attorneys also allege that the three other defendants “had a duty and responsibility to maintain the Snow Creek Bridge,” but failed to maintain the bridge, place proper barricades and warning signs or provide lights near the hazardous road.
As of Sept. 20, there still have not been repairs to the bridge, according to the attorneys.
“There have been concerned neighbors who took it upon themselves to put concrete barriers on the side of the road that Phil was driving on. They did what the defendants who are responsible for the bridge didn’t do,” attorneys said during a call with news outlets on Sept. 20. “But the condition of the actual road and bridge itself is the same today as it was on the day that bill was was killed.”
A spokesperson from Google said the company is reviewing the lawsuit.
“We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family. Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News.
McClatchy News was unable to reach Tarde LLC, James Tarlton and Hickley Gauvain LLC for comment.
Paxson’s wife is suing all four defendants for negligent, grossly negligent, willful and wanton conduct as well as punitive damages and loss of consortium.
“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,” Paxson’s wife, Alicia Paxson, said in a news release after the suit was filed. “Google ignored the concerned community voices telling them to change its map and directions. No one should ever lose a loved one this way, and we want to make sure our voices are heard.”
Hickory is about 55 miles northwest of Charlotte.
This story was originally published September 20, 2023 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Dad of 2 died after driving off collapsed bridge, family says. Now, Google being sued."
