Company tears down wrong house, blames snafu on Google Maps
A Texas woman survived a tornado in December with her son, only to have her house mistakenly torn down last week when Google Maps navigated a demolition company to the wrong block.
"Disbelief, it's hard for me to sleep," homeowner Lindsay Diaz told USA Today. "It's all I think about."
Diaz's home suffered damage in the tornado, but she had been waiting on insurance and possible FEMA aid before going forward with repairs. Diaz and her neighbor, Alan Cutter, however, have nothing left of their duplex after Billy L. Nabors Demolition was sent to the wrong block, a mistake they blame on Google Maps.
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In the days following the error, the demolition company wouldn't even answer Diaz's calls. "In the beginning I just thought they weren't going to contact me at all. I thought I was going to ride this out on my own," Diaz said.
However, after widespread attention was brought to the incident, Diaz said the company has since called and "sincerely apologized." Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.