Waze, a GPS navigation app, reportedly drove a woman to her death in Brazil. Regina Murmura, 70, along with her husband Francisco, were bound for a beach in Niteroi, a municipality of Rio de Janeiro across the Guanabara Bay. They plotted their journey from Rio and selected Avenida Quintino Bocaiuva as their destination. The app, however, directed them to Rua Quintino Bocaiuva, right at the heart of a notorious Brazilian favela, a slum in Rio infested with drug gangs.
As the couple's car entered the area, they were ambushed by a barrage of gunfire, hitting the vehicle with at least 20 bullets. Francisco Murmura was not injured but received a rifle butt when he attempted to leave the car.
"When I got out, and the guy came with a gun, the best thing he could have done, to me, would have been to put me out and end it," Francisco said in a Fox News report.
Regina Murmura, however, was not as fortunate. She was injured with a bullet wound and died in the hospital after a cardiac arrest, Sky News reported.
Authorities believe that the gang led by Rodrigo da Silva Rodrigues, a violent drug lord holding court in the area, carried out the attack, according to the Telegraph. He is also wanted by the police for the killing of another resident and the disappearance of an elderly couple.
Waze, a Google-owned company, has expressed regret about the incident but explained that the app is not designed to take people only to safe areas, reported Fox News. This is the second time that Waze mistakenly directed a user to the Niteroi favela. A Brazilian actress experienced the same mix-up last August but was fortunate to escape uninjured, Sky News reports.
