GPS leads motorist on broken bridge, he dies as car falls off

Technology may have made our life simpler but many incidents remind us the need to perfect tech solutions we use daily. A simple GPS (Global Positioning System) has become cause of a man's death in North Carolina in the US.

47-year-old Phil Paxton was driving home on September 30 in his Jeep Gladiator when the GPS misguided him. As per reports in the American media, Paxton was dead when authorities arrived at the scene of the accident on the morning of October 1.

According to a law inforcement release Paxton's car was found "upside down and partially submerged in a creek in an area where the roadway had washed out."

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Paxton's GPS reportedly led him on to the half-finished bridge. The tragedy followed afterwards.

"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 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."

News reports about Paxton's death say that barriers before the bridge which usually alert the motorists of incomplete construction were also not present.

GPS has not been found to be without problems. Many users across the globe have reported unclear guidance especially when a decision about taking a bridge is concerned.

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