Lawsuit filed alleging Car Accident was caused from Teen Playing with Snapchat’s Speed Filter

Media outlets report Wentworth and Karen Maynard filed a lawsuit in Spalding County State Court against the popular social media app, Snapchat, and the 18-year-old driver, Christal McGee, who crashed into the Maynard’s vehicle while using a Snapchat filter that places the rate at which a vehicle is traveling over an image.

According to the Complaint, McGee was trying to reach 100 miles an hour in her car, which struck the Maynards’ car, sending it across the left lane and into an embankment. The Complaint further alleges that Mr. Maynard suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the collision.

According to his attorney, Mr. Maynard, who was driving the car McGee rear-ended, will never be the same.”He was in a coma, spent five weeks in intensive care. He has a brain injury that is permanent. His wife is having to take care of him,” said Todd Henningsen, one of Maynard’s attorneys.

Maynard can no longer be left alone as a result of his injuries, and his family members have become his caretakers.“Wentworth would get up on his own, make his breakfast, go to work, and cook dinner,” Maynard’s wife, Karen, said in the statement. “Now he’s so tired he falls asleep in his wheelchair during the day. We used to sit on the sofa and watch TV in the evening, and Wentworth would hug me. Now, he can’t do that anymore.”

Maynard had just turned right out of his apartment complex onto Tara Boulevard where the speed limit is 55. A crash reconstruction expert examined both vehicles and determined McGee’s car was traveling 107 mph at the time of impact.

But what are the grounds for bringing Snapchat into the lawsuit? Maynard’s attorneys argue that  Snapchat should have also known their product and the “speed” filter would have encouraged distracted driving and speeding.

After the crash, McGee continued to Snapchat her injuries, writing “lucky to be alive.

Maynard’s lawsuit against Snapchat is getting national attention and is the latest chronicling the dangers of distracted driving.

Now, Change.org has issued a petition requesting the CEO of Snapchat, Evan Spiegal, to remove the filter allowing users to track their speed as you take a picture or video.