Google Maps Street View, created in 2007, uses 360-degree panoramic views to open up the world to online users.
First launched in the US, it has since extended to hundreds of countries and some of the most remote areas.
Google Maps has covered many streets and roads across the world capturing exciting shots of the natural world, poignant moments between couples and numerous embarrassing incidents.
One such awkward snapshot photographed by Google Maps Street View is this image of a crashed car in Central Shasta, California and its seemingly overwhelmed driver crouched by the side of the road.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee seems completely written off. Its bonnet is crumpled, its front tire flat and the front of the vehicle utterly crushed.
However, what is intriguing about the scene is that there is no hint as to what the jeep actually crashed into.
The car has come to a stop in the middle of the road and although there are trees and shrubs at the side of the road, the vehicle isn’t anywhere near them.
One explanation might be that the motorist drove into the tree and then reversed a little way back onto the road before the car failed completely.
The driver can be seen crouched behind the car on the grass verge head in hands. It is presumed he is devastated about what has happened to his truck. No one else can be seen.
To add another mystery into the story, the Google team seem to have blurred out some of the ground next to the driver.
No clue is given as to what they might be trying to hide – perhaps the man felt so sick he couldn’t keep down his lunch?
Shasta State Historic Park was once a bustling town in the 1900’s and was an important base of operations when gold was found nearby.
However the place sadly passed into ‘ghost town’ status after the Central Pacific Railroad was built in the mid 1880s and bypassed Shasta.
Today the park features the ruins of the gold mining town and some of the original 19th century truck buildings have even been restored.
Other bizarre crashes have also been captured by Google Maps Street View, such as the lorry that ploughed into a ditch by the side of the road in Mexico only for a pick-up truck half its size to come to its rescue.
Another bad crash took place in Scotland where Google photographed a woman standing over her car.
However her car is no longer on the road having reversed into a ditch.
A very embarrassing situation to have shared with her family and friends, never mind the general public.
Fortunately for this women she isn’t alone, two passers by appear to have stopped to help her out.
Other awkward photographs from Google Maps include a man who was snapped while he crouched for an al fresco toilet break behind his van parked at the side of the road next to a wall.
