What should have been a day filled with happiness ended in tragedy as a North Carolina man driving home from his daughter’s birthday party died after driving off a bridge that had been washed away nearly a decade earlier. His widow and family are now trying to bring attention to the tragic loss. They claim that the bridge could have been maintained properly or steps taken to stop drivers from driving toward the bridge.
Phil Paxson had stayed behind to help his friends clean up after they hosted a party to celebrate his and his wife Alycia’s oldest daughter’s ninth birthday. Alycia and their two daughters left separately.
“I remember saying goodbye, love you, see you in a bit,”Alycia shared Inside Edition.
Paxson had only a short drive to make it to the new suburban Charlotte house that he had just moved into because of the stormy night. Because he wasn’t familiar with the roads, his family tells him he used GPS to guide him.
Paxson drove for about four minutes. His family believes his GPS pointed him down a path, where he likely would have expected to cross an unlikely bridge. But the bridge hasn’t existed since 2013 when it was washed away. It was locally known as the “bridge to nowhere.”
Paxson drove off of the road and plunged 20 feet into the ravine. State troopers discovered his SUV partially submerged. Paxson was inside.
“Yes, 100% preventable, in my opinion,” Alycia said of her husband’s death. She answered the question, “How could this bridge fall through the cracks?” “Unfathomable. I just can’t wrap head around how this could happen.”
Both the county and state claim that it is a private road in private development. They are not responsible.
“We’ve heard from neighbors that they have heard of babysitters or delivery drivers who almost suffered the same fate as Phil,”Inside Edition was informed by Bob Zimmerman, an attorney who represents Paxson and his family.
To prevent any further tragedy, a barricade was built today. Alycia still feels the pain of her husband’s death.
“He didn’t deserve to die this way,”She said.