US couple sues Google over Cape Town attack

An American couple is suing Google after they were attacked last year in a Cape Town suburb while following directions on Google Maps. Jason and Katharine Zoladz were attempting to navigate to Cape Town International Airport, when they were robbed at gunpoint at an infamous Nyanga intersection near the airport in October. In court papers filed by the couple in a Californian court last week, the couple claims that Google knew the route was dangerous and has a responsibility to protect their users. News24 reports that the incident was one of a string of violent attacks on tourists in the area, which prompted Google, in partnership with the City of Cape Town, to re-route trips to the airport away from dangerous areas. But these changes came too late for the Zoladz couple. Jason Zoladz was knocked unconscious on 24 October 2023 when a brick was thrown at his rental vehicle. Shots were fired as the couple were dragged from the vehicle by the assailants, and stripped of their personal possessions, including their phones, credit cards and cash. In separate court papers filed by the couple against the company that provided them with travel insurance, it is explained that Jason only received medical attention seven hours after the assault took place. The insurer failed to provide advance funds for the surgery, owing to authorisation issues. Eventually, the three-hour surgery, where four titanium plates were inserted into Jason’s face, went ahead. In the eight months preceding the attack on the couple, three separate incidents where tourists were attacked near Nyanga were listed in the court papers.