A car crash victim in Georgia is suing Snapchat for his crash, claiming the messaging app “motivated” the careless driver who hit his car last year, leaving him with permanent brain damage.
The suit, from former Uber driver, Wentworth Maynard, says Snapchat was “the critical cause” of the crash, thanks to a filter urging users to show the speed of their cars.
Maynard and his wife were merging onto a highway near Atlanta Sept. 10 when they were struck by Christal McGee, according to court docs.
McGee, who had three passengers, was barreling down the road at more than 100 mph while taking selfies with Snapchat’s speed filter.
The app awards a “trophy” to users who post pics showing off their speed.
The filter “facilitated McGee’s excessive speeding” and “distracted” her in the moments before the crash, the suit says. McGee was going about 107 mph when she hit Maynard’s Mitsubishi Outlander, the suit says.
She kept snapping even after impact. A photo released by Maynard’s attorneys shows McGee in an ambulance gurney, with blood running down her face, under the caption, “Lucky to be alive.”
The crash left Maynard with brain damage, and the suit says he has been unable to work since the accident.
NY Daily News