About 100 Cars Get Stuck in Mud After Google Map Routes Them to Empty Field

Stock images of a google map app (deepanker70/Pixabay) and a vehicle stuck in muddy field. (RonaldPlett/Pixabay)

Dozens of cars trying to find a shorter route to the Denver International Airport found themselves stuck in a muddy field after Google Maps directed them there on June 23.

Drivers were trying to find their way around a crash on Pena Boulevard on Sunday when the Google Maps app on their phones showed a detour route, reported the Denver Channel.

“Google Maps asked us to take the Tower exit, so I did because it was supposed to be half the time,” said Connie Monsees, who was on her way to pick her husband from the airport when she used her Google Map app at 7 p.m.

Monsees was in a hurry since her husband had already arrived and was waiting for her at the airport. She decided to use the Google app on her phone to take a detour down E. 64^th Ave.

“It was 47 minutes from Tower Road to the terminal, so I went to the detour, which was supposed to take 23 [minutes],” she said.

Monsees told the Denver Channel that the route eventually turned out to be a dirt road that joined Jackson Gap Road.

“My thought was, ‘Well there are all these other cars in front of me so it must be OK.’ So I just continued,” she said.

Media reports say that it was a sunny day but it had rained earlier during the weekend and the trail had turned muddy. “That’s when I thought, ‘Oh this was a bad decision,’” she told KHGH.

Cars got stuck as they drove through the muddy parts and when a few vehicles got stuck, it caused a traffic jam for the 100 behind.

Monsees said that she could not take a U-turn because the road was wide enough only for one vehicle. There were two ditches on the road.

“The question is, why did Google send us out there to begin with? There was no turning back once you were out there,” she said.

Monsees said she was able to pass because her car has all-wheel drive. “I tore up the inside passenger wheel well for my tire, but it’s not that big of a deal compared to some other people who really tore their cars up and got themselves stuck out there,” she said.

As she made her way through the muddy mess, some of the people still stuck asked her for a lift.

“This man walked by my car and said, ‘Are you going to the airport?’ And I said, ‘I am,’” Monsees told ABC News.

“He got in the car with me because the car he was in was not going to make it.”

Both of them finally made it to their respective flights, but what would have taken her one and a half hours for a round-trip took her three and a half hours. She, however, didn’t complain to ABC News about it.

“They, as far as they knew, they took us to a good spot. But I think as a society we…are too wrapped up in trying to just do things quick,” she said.

Google spokesperson told ABC News in a statement that the company considers many factors to determine routes for the drivers.

“We take many factors into account when determining driving routes, including the size of the road and the directness of the route,” said the spokesperson.

“While we always work to provide the best directions, issues can arise due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather. We encourage all drivers to follow local laws, stay attentive, and use their best judgement while driving.”