AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commissions as an Amazon Associate and Affiliate Partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate associations do not influence our editorial content.
A passenger’s iPhone automatically alerted officials to a fatal car crash in Nebraska that was called the area’s “worst crash” in some time.
The iPhone 14’s new crash detection feature was activated after the Honda Accord collided around 2:15 a.m. local time in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Unlike most Apple Watch accounts of heart problems, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. Five of the car’s six occupants died instantly, and a sixth died later in hospital. That she was taken to the hospital and had any chance of survival, however, was due to the iPhone’s shock detection.
According to the Associated Press, local police say there were no other vehicles involved, and no witnesses.
“This is Lincoln’s worst crash in recent memory,” Lincoln Deputy Police Chief Michon Morrow said. “The cause of this accident will take some time to determine. We are looking into all possibilities, including alcohol, speed or distracted driving.”
The six victims were between the ages of 21 and 24, police said.
This type of crash, with no witnesses around to help, is what Apple described in the launch of the crash detection feature. “Nearly half of the worst crashes occur in rural areas, and most involve only a single vehicle,” said Apple’s Deirdre Caldbeck.
Shock detection on the iPhone and Apple Watch was designed “to help in situations like this,” he continued.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal has shown that there are circumstances in which crash detection does not work. There could be several reasons why this is true, but a key part seems to be whether the car has been driven long enough for the iPhone’s sensors to register that the owner is driving.