A wealthy Los Angeles couple is suing Google Maps for sending them into a dangerous area of South Africa known as “Hell Run.” There she was subjected to a brutal attack at gunpoint that broke her husband’s jaw.
Jason and Kathryn Zolaz, a regional director in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Los Angeles office, used the app to get from their Airbnb to Cape Town’s airport in October. Mercury News reported.
The newspaper reported, citing a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court, that they had planned to swap their rental car for an SUV to drive to a wildlife preserve in the Kalahari Desert.
The couple claim Google Maps directed them to the Nyanga area, despite warnings from US and local authorities against the tech giant. The Nyanga district has long been known locally as the scene of “numerous” incidents of violence against tourists by armed robbers.
“The robbers ambushed tourists traveling in rental cars,” the complaint said, “attacking the vehicles by throwing bricks and large stones through the vehicle windows, assaulting the occupants, and stealing valuables.” It is being
Victims were left “injured, disabled or dead,” the newspaper added.
According to the filing, Google Maps directed the couple to an area of the highway known as Hell Run, notorious for violent attacks on tourists who wandered into the area.
According to the Mercury News, nearby New Eisleben Road was known as a “prime location” for attacks because “the gang knew Google Maps was directing unsuspecting tourists to rental cars.” the lawsuit alleges.
When the Zoladzes stopped at a red light, armed thugs surrounded their car.
“One of them threw a paver brick into the driver’s side window, shattering Jason Zolaz’s lower jaw bone into several pieces and cutting through his skin and muscle to the bone, rendering him unconscious,” the complaint states. It has been stated.
According to reports, the suspects pulled the couple from their car, shot them several times, stole cash, credit cards and cellphones and fled the scene.
According to the suit, Jason became “bleeding and disoriented as he attempted to accompany Katherine to the hospital and police station.”
After being taken to the hospital by police, Jason underwent three hours of reconstructive surgery and said, “Currently living with four metal plates in his jaw, he continues to experience pain and numbness and will undergo surgery in the future.” “possible,” the complaint states.
Catherine said she was left with lasting psychological damage.
A consular official at the hospital said, “Other Americans have been attacked along the same route, and U.S. and South African officials have been in discussions with Google Maps for some time to discourage Google Maps from sending people along that route.” I was trying to do it,” he said. It says.
They claim that Cape Town authorities later told the couple that they were also trying to meet with Google Maps representatives about the issue.
Three weeks after the brutal attack, the company agreed to stop Google Maps from directing people to dangerous areas, according to the complaint.
“It was too late for the Zoladze family,” it reads.
“We take driver safety very seriously,” Google spokesperson Jose Castañeda told the Mercury News late Wednesday.
“We continually work to improve our routes, taking into account a wide range of factors to deliver them, including road width, straightness, and estimated travel times,” he said, adding that the company is considering a lawsuit. He added that he is doing so.
The couple is seeking unspecified damages.
of SEC announced On November 29, Katherine was appointed regional director of the agency’s Los Angeles office.
According to her bio, she joined the agency in 2010 and served as acting joint director since June 2023 and sub-regional director for enforcement since October 2019.
Prior to joining the SEC, Katherine practiced securities and complex commercial litigation.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in international politics from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.
