A driver had to be rescued from a Utah mountain after following a ‘shortcut’ on Google Maps.
The unknown 23-year-old man was rescued from Strawberry at midnight Thursday night according to the Wasatch County Search and Rescue Team.
Authorities said the man was trapped in his Toyota Turcell on the west side of the peak and that it took three hours to rescue him.
Images captured by rescue crews show the blue vehicle on a rocky dirt road, and crews had to use all-terrain vehicles to reach the driver.
According to rescuers, the man had ended up on the hill as part of a shortcut recommended by Google Maps.
Authorities said the man was trapped in his Toyota Turcell on the west side of the peak and that it took three hours to rescue him.
Images captured by rescue crews show the blue vehicle on a rocky dirt road, and crews had to use all-terrain vehicles just to reach the driver.
In a statement, they said: ‘The 911 Dispatch Center received a call from a stranded motorist.
‘The 23-year-old man was trapped in his Toyota Turcell on the west side of Strawberry Peak.
‘This was the shortcut Google recommended between Springville and Vernal.
“The driver was uninjured but had to be transported off the mountain. Search and rescue teams responded and provided assistance.”
This comes after Google fixed a part of its maps that had caused drivers in Utah to get stranded on another mountain.
Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington said: ABC4 who receive a distress call several times a month from a remote road in East Mountain.
Huntington said the problem was that people were using Google Maps and simply entering the name of the state of Utah, which would automatically take them to a remote area.
In all cases, search and rescue teams were able to help them and their vehicles out of the mountain.
An 18-wheel semi-trailer truck hauling a 53-foot refrigerated trailer full of Red Bull (pictured) became stuck in mud after its navigation system led the driver off-road.
A map of the road before Google made the correction to its navigation system.
Because of the issues, the sheriff’s office contacted Google, who eventually made the appropriate changes.
The worst case, according to the sheriff, involved an 18-wheeler semi-truck hauling a trailer that got stuck in the mud after its system drove the driver off the highway.
After the incident, the sheriff’s department reached out to Google, along with the news outlet, and were “super excited” when they received a response.
“We use multiple sources to update the map, including community contributions, information from local authorities, along with Street View and satellite imagery,” a Google spokesperson told News4.
‘We have updated this route on our map and it should be reflected in the coming days.’
Huntington noted that the issue was resolved even before Google responded.
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