Posted on 10/08/2022 3:37:51 PM PDT by george76
The Hickory bridge had been inoperative for about nine years, and any barricades had been washed away
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A North Carolina man is dead after his GPS led him to a defunct bridge that dropped off into a creek on Sept. 30.
Phillip Paxson, a 47-year-old father of two girls, had been driving his Jeep at night from his oldest daughter's birthday party in Hickory when his GPS led him to a bridge that has been inoperative since heavy flooding in July 2013 destroyed it.
"It was a dark and rainy night and he was following his GPS which led him down a concrete road to a bridge that dropped off into a river," Paxson's mother-in-law, Linda McPhee Koenig, said in a Tuesday Facebook post. "The bridge had been destroyed [nine] years ago and never repaired. It lacked any barriers or warning signs to prevent the death of a 47 year old [sic] father of two daughters. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. It was a totally preventable accident. We are grieving his death."
Now, Paxson's family is trying to bring attention to the tragedy they believe could have been avoided with proper maintenance or even just signage and barricades from the city warning drivers not to drive toward the bridge.
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"This was a preventable accident, the bridge he went over at night had a gaping hole and their were no barricades
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locals have established a makeshift memorial, told the outlet. "He drove to his death through that 20 [foot] ravine."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
A private road...barricades were up in late November 2014...not there later apparently?
Google maps shows “Road Closed”:
https://goo.gl/maps/thP2ihjQr4Fy1CqK9
Good friend’s father died from driving off unattended and open ferry crossing at night with rain involved. Does happen.
I don’t know for sure but say she did get the GPS updated. Say a bridge went out a day before he got there, or a week before, would it show?
Thanks for the post. It reminded to check my own navigation. They just posted an update.
I use Waze.
If that’s true, that’s somebody’s ass.
Passengers rescued after Greyhound bus gets stuck on forest service road ... Greyhound says it is investigating the - ( Google maps ? ) - rerouting that sent its bus up a road that is accessible only by 4-wheel drives and ATVs... ripping a hole in the engine’s oil pan and ..
https://coloradosun.com/2021/08/08/greyhound-bus-stuck-forest-service-road-glenwood-canyon/
Lawsuit material par excellence.
That’s what it sounds like. No warning signs, no barricades, etc.
Was he wearing a bucket on his head?
Probably not.
An acquaintance and her friend died in the 80s following a map and making a wrong turn on a dark and rainy murky night. They drove down a boat ramp.
There's some agency that would have been responsible for blocking that bridge. At least signage.
I foresee a lawsuit.
No, the guy had two daughters who are still alive, so no Darwin Award here.
This bridge wasn’t barricaded why?
Ok to “follow” the GPS, but you still have to “drive” the car. This was preventable in ways not mentioned in the story.
Waze would’ve prevented that
Dumb guy, but they should have put up barriers and signs.
Mayhem is Everywhere.
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