Teen Allegedly Snapchats Her Entire Debilitating Car Crash Using the Speed Filter
A man is suing both 18-year-old Christal McGee and Snapchat after the teen allegedly hit him with her car while trying to reach an impressive number on the app's speed filter, according to the official complaint. Wentworth Maynard spent five weeks in the ICU after the crash, which resulted in severe traumatic and physical injuries that left him unable to work.
Maynard's lawyer Michael L. Neff wrote on the night of September 10, 2015, McGee pulled onto Hampton, Georgia's, Tara Boulevard going more than 100 miles per hour. The road's speed limit is 55 miles per hour. McGee allegedly told the passengers in her car who were concerned about her speed (one of whom is pregnant) that she was "just trying to get the car to 100 miles per hour to post it on Snapchat" while filming in selfie mode with the speed filter on.
Maynard, who is an Uber driver who was just beginning his shift at the time, merged onto the street and was allegedly hit so hard by McGee's car that his Outlander (pictured below right) shot across all four lanes of the highway into an embankment. A reenactment of the crash estimated McGee was going about 107 miles per hour at the time of impact.
McGee's father's Mercedes (pictured above left) spun out and she and her passengers were taken to a nearby hospital for minor injuries, which McGee allegedly documented on Snapchat (pictured top left) as well. Maynard is now completely dependent on a wheelchair or walker and is struggling with communication, memory loss, and depression. He may not be left alone, his lawyer explained, so he is suing McGee and the app for extensive damages.
Neff told CBS News "This is a product liability case because Snapchat put something very dangerous in the marketplace without any warnings or safeguards." Neff also alleges the same speed filter has been responsible for some other recent deadly crashes as well.
A Snapchat spokesman told KTLA he could not comment on the lawsuit, but that the app has always included a warning not to use it while driving. McGee has not yet spoken publicly about the allegations.
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