A Los Angeles couple is suing Google Maps for negligence, saying the app led them to a notoriously dangerous area of Cape Town, South Africa, where they were violently attacked and robbed at gunpoint last year.
Daily Express US report Jason and Katherine Zolaz filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court on Tuesday, claiming Google Maps directed them to Cape Town’s Nyanga district while they were on their way to the airport to return their rental car. The couple claims the app directed them to “Hell Run,” a congested highway where armed groups routinely target tourists in rental cars.
Local residents and officials warned Google about the attacks in Nyanga and asked the company to stop sending people to the area, according to the complaint. But it was too late for Zoladze and his wife, who were attacked by an armed group in October last year after being guided by Google Maps into their neighborhood.
The attackers surrounded the couple’s car, smashed the driver’s side window and dragged Jason and Catherine from the car. The men then fired several shots, brutally beating Jason, and taking the couple’s cash, credit cards, and cell phone.
Jason was left unconscious with severe facial injuries that required reconstructive surgery and left him with four metal plates in his jaw. He continues to suffer from pain, numbness and mobility issues.
You can see the Google Maps app on your file/smartphone. Tuesday, September 19, 2023 The family of a North Carolina man who died after following directions from Google Maps to drive his car off a collapsed bridge has filed a negligence lawsuit against the tech giant, saying they had been informed of the collapse. Navigation system update failed. (AP Photo/Patrick Sisson, File)
The Zoladzes claim the attack could have been prevented if Google had heeded warnings about the deadly risks of sending tourists through Nyanga. According to the complaint, authorities and residents had been petitioning the company for several years prior to the incident to change the route.
Authorities in Cape Town finally succeeded in getting Google to stop directing them to Nyanga in November last year, three weeks after the attack on the Zoladze family.
The couple allege Google was negligent in allowing unsuspecting tourists to enter what locals call “hell.” Their lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the physical and psychological trauma they suffered.
This is not the first time Google Maps has led tourists into danger in Cape Town. Last year, an American man was shot in the face after landing in South Africa and following an app’s suggested route through Nyanga.
read more Daily Express US here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
