An American tourist who was shot in the face and robbed after driving into a violent township on arrival in Cape Town will sue Google for allegedly sending him into the neighbourhood.
Walter Fischel had his belongings and rental car stolen after his satnav suggested a shortcut through a notoriously violent area called Nyanga.
Nyanga is close to the airport that welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, but its streets at one time held the unwelcome title of South Africa’s “murder capital”.
Mr Fischel is one of several tourists who were attacked in Nyanga last year after allegedly following satnavs into danger.
Kar Hao Teoh, a British orthopaedic surgeon, was shot dead in August in Nyanga after his GPS allegedly diverted him off the N2 motorway.
Last year’s spate of incidents led the Foreign Office and US State Department to update travel advice and warn visitors against taking GPS navigation shortcuts down back streets.
Google removed Nyanga from shortcuts in November, after talks with the South African tourism authorities.
‘Crime hotspot’
A Google spokesman told The Telegraph in December: “We have updated Google Maps and provided an alternative route to our users who drive past the Nyanga intersection.
“This new route takes users away from the area which has been reported by authorities as a crime hotspot and ensures that they get to their destinations safely.”
Mr Fischel told News24: “Before I came to Cape Town, Google Maps had already known Nyanga was a problem area yet it was still put on the route map.
“Why they did not remove it a long time ago is beyond me. They have caused major damage to my mental health and healing process.”
Google was contacted for comment on Mr Fischel’s case.
‘Robbers lie in wait for tourists in rental cars’
Another American couple are also reported to be suing the tech company after they followed the app into Nyanga and were robbed in October.
Jason and Katharine Zoladz, from Los Angeles, were left terrified and bloodied after attackers threw a paving slab through their side window, breaking Mr Zoladz’s jaw.
Their case filed in January in Santa Clara County Superior Court in California alleged that “gangs of robbers would lie in wait for tourists travelling in rental cars” and would “assault the cars by throwing bricks or large stones through car windows, violently assaulting the occupants and stealing valuables”.
