Here’s a collection of tragic death by GPS stories of when bad GPS directions resulted in the death of innocent travelers.
Search, and rescue teams call it “Death By GPS.” It happens when a well-meaning driver follows poor directions from a GPS device and ends up in serious trouble. Despite the grisly name, not every victim dies of death by GPS. But the name is a reminder of how high the stakes can be when you trust technology more than your own eyes and instincts.
01) Bad Scenic Route
In March of 2011, Albert and Rita Chretien left Penticton, British Columbia, in their Chevrolet Astro Van. They were driving to Las Vegas for a convention and decided to take a more scenic route. Rita would later tell rescuers that they tried to use their GPS to find Mountain City, Nevada, but the device led them onto a dangerous and remote road high in the desert mountains. Their vehicle was quickly disabled, and they became lost and stuck.
Several days passed before their family discovered the two had never made it to the convention. The Chretiens never told anyone the route they planned to use. Without a clear location, search teams had to be mobilized across four states. It was such a vast area, searchers were eventually forced to abandon their efforts.
After nearly two months, hunters stumbled upon Rita clinging to life at the spot where their van slid off the road. Albert was missing. He had set off for Mountain City on foot to bring back help. It was almost two years before his body was found. He had made it seven miles, just over halfway to the town.
02) Bad Neighborhood
It was October 2015, and Regina Murmura and her husband were meeting their daughter for dinner at a beach neighborhood in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
They were unfamiliar with the area and used the Waze app to find their way. Unfortunately, the Waze app led them into a perilous neighborhood where a local gang ambushed them. Regina died in a hail of gunfire, and her husband was lucky to make it out alive.
03) Bridge Is Out
The bridge on Cline Avenue in Lake County Indiana has been closed since 2009, but in March 2015, Iftikhar Hussain’s GPS recommended it as his fastest route.
Hussain trusted the bad GPS directions more than his own eyes as he drove past concrete barriers, orange barrels and road closed signs. He drove his Nissan Sentra off the edge. The car fell almost forty feet and caught fire. Iftikhar’s wife who was riding as a passenger and was killed. He survived.
04) The Fishing Trip
Investigators believe that on a fishing trip in Oregon, Silas Whitley relied too much on his GPS device and not enough on his own instincts. At one point in his travels, his GPS did a recalculation that put him on a challenging and remote road. It was there that after a weeklong search in August of 2015, searchers finally found his truck and then his body.
05) Death By GPS Death Valley Detour
Alicia Sanchez and her 6-year-old son Carlos were only lost for 5 days, but in Death Valley National Park, that’s more than enough time to die. When a park ranger came across her incapacitated car in August 2009, the first thing Alicia said to him was, “my baby is dead.” He found 6-year-old Carlos slumped over in the front seat. Alicia was probably within hours of dying herself. She was just following her GPS unit, which directed her down the wrong road.
How to Avoid “Death by GPS”
These death by GPS stories are terrible but hopefully will help raise awareness around this issue. The advice for avoiding Death by GPS is simple: Trust your gut. If a road seems unsafe, go back. Search, and rescue teams also recommend having paper maps that clearly mark passable and maintained roads. GPS directions are helpful to have, but traditional paper maps might help save your life.
At the end of the day, though, nothing can take the place of your own eyeballs. Follow all road signs and use common sense. If you see a road closed sign, don’t use the road. Your GPS won’t magically open it for you. Follow those common-sense tips so you won’t fall victim to death by GPS.
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