An LA-based couple are allegedly suing Google Maps after it lead them through a dangerous spot in Cape Town, Africa. Photo / Getty
An LA-based couple are allegedly suing Google Maps after it lead them through a dangerous spot in Cape Town, Africa. Photo / Getty
Many travellers rely on Google Maps to get them from point A to point B.
However, one American couple ran into life-threatening trouble when they followed the app’s directions in South Africa, and are suing the company in response.
Jason and Katharine Zoladz, of Los Angeles, used Google Maps to navigate from their Airbnb to Cape Town International Airport in October. Little did they know, the app directed them along a section of highway nicknamed Hell Run, which is notorious for violent attacks against tourists.
According to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court, the couple were returning to the airport to change their rental car to an SUV for a trip to the Kalahari Desert, the Mercury News reported.
The couple never made it to the airport. When they stopped at a red light, they were attacked at gunpoint and Jason’s jaw was broken by a group of armed bandits.
“One of them threw a paving brick through the driver’s-side window, breaking Jason Zoladz’s lower jawbone into several pieces, cutting through his skin and muscle to bone, and rendering him unconscious,” the lawsuit reportedly says.
Cape Town is a popular spot for tourists to visit while in South Africa, but one does need to exercise caution while moving around. Photo / Supplied
After they were pulled from the car, the group stole their phones, credit cards and cash before running from the scene.
Google Maps has allegedly received warnings from local officials about the neighbourhood, where “gangs of robbers would lie in wait for tourists travelling in rental cars” and “assault the cars by throwing bricks or large stones through the car windows, violently assaulting the occupants, and stealing valuables”, the lawsuit stated.
Victims tend to be “injured, maimed, or dead” following attacks, it said.
The stretch of road is along the N2 freeway in Cape Town and is often the most direct route in the area, but is a hotspot for stone-throwing attacks.
According to the filing, gangs target this route because they know Google Maps favours it as a way to the airport, meaning tourists often drive through.
The N2 has been identified as dangerous for residents and tourists. Photo / Google Maps
The Zoladzes weren’t the first Americans to be attacked at that spot, and both US and South African officials have been trying to work with Google Maps to stop recommending the route.
After getting the attention of a police officer who took the couple to a hospital, Jason underwent surgery on his jaw. The couple claim there is ongoing physical and emotional damage as a result of the attack.
Many victims would simply chalk it up to bad luck and move on, but as the regional director of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s LA office, Katherine Zoladz decided to launch a case against Google Maps for unspecified damages.
The lawsuit claims Cape Town officials told the couple they were trying to meet with Google Maps to discuss a change in recommended directions. Google Maps allegedly agreed to stop suggesting the area three weeks after the attack on the couple.
A spokesperson for Google told the New York Post it took driver safety “very seriously” and was reviewing the lawsuit.
“We consider a wide range of factors to deliver routes — like road size, directness and estimated travel time – and continually work to improve our routing,” the spokesperson said.
