Phil Paxson was driving home after his daughter’s birthday

A man from North Carolina, US, died after his car fell into a river while he was following his Global Positioning System (GPS).

The father of two was returning from his daughter’s birthday when the navigation system directed him to a bridge that was destroyed years ago.

The incident took place in the Hickory City of North Carolina on September 30. Phil Paxson, 47, was driving home after celebrating his daughter’s ninth birthday. He was taking directions from a GPS that night, Mr Paxson’s mother-in-law Linda McPhee Koenig shared in a Facebook post.

Ms Koenig stated that the navigation system guided Mr Paxson “down a concrete road to a bridge that dropped off into a river”. She added that the bridge had a dead end since it was destroyed nine years ago and was never repaired.

The mother-in-law alleged that the bridge did not have any safety barriers or signs that could have warned Mr Paxson about the danger.

“He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. It was a totally preventable accident. We are grieving his death,” she wrote in the post.

Following the accident, troopers said that there were barricades to warn drivers about the bridge but they were apparently removed. —ndtv.com