A man from North Carolina died after his car plunged into a creek while following his GPS directions. He was returning home after celebrating his daughter’s ninth birthday when his GPS took him to a destroyed bridge that led into a ravine.

The unfortunate accident happened on the dark and rainy night of September 30 in Hickory, North Carolina, when 47-year-old Phil Paxson was driving home from the birthday party.

North Carolina’s highway patrol got a call about a vehicle in the creek in Hickory at around 10 a.m. on Saturday. The responding officers found Paxson’s 2020 Jeep Gladiator upside down and partly submerged in water. Paxson was found dead in the vehicle.

Linda McPhoee Koenig, his mother-in-law, shared the sad news on a Facebook post, saying that her son-in-law was following his GPS that night, and it made the grievous error of navigating him down a concrete road to a bridge that led into the ravine. She said the bridge had been washed away in a storm almost a decade ago, and it had not been repaired. Barricades had been removed apparently recently. 

Paxson’s mother-in-law said that the bridge lacked necessary barriers and warning signs that could have prevented the death of her son-in-law and father of two. Paxson’s death was unnecessary and preventable, she added. 

Alicia Paxson, his widow, was driving in another car with their two daughters, but her husband had stayed behind to help clean up the party. She also shared pictures of the bridge on her Facebook page. While sharing the news on her social media page, she also shared articles dating back to 2014 where people in the area have been calling the authorities to do something about the bridge.

She grieved her husband, saying that somebody had to be held responsible for her husband’s death, adding that the bridge was a well-known hazard and a tragedy waiting to happen, and that it was mind-blowing how no one else had ever died in the nine years since the bridge was damaged.

She wondered why her husband had to be the one to bring awareness to the bridge’s situation and leave their two daughters without a father.

Alicia Paxton said that after celebrating their nine-year-old daughter’s birthday, held at a friend’s house, they packed up the decorations while Paxton packed up his wife’s car and loaded up the girls in the car.

He was driving behind them, but the GPS guided him to take a left turn while his wife and kids took a right turn, and that one small mistake led to the tragic end of the 47-year-old’s life.

The Transportation Department of North Carolina told WCNC that they could not improve and maintain the bridge since it was on a private road. Authorities say that private roads in the county could be owned by developers, the homeowner’s association, or the property owners, who were responsible for maintenance and repairs.

No one has taken responsibility for the private road. 

Paxson’s family and friends have started a GoFundMe campaign asking for well wishers to help them give their son a befitting send off.