Following several YouTube videos testing the functionality of Apple’s new Crash Detection feature, tragedy has struck. Near Lincoln, Nebraska, six young adults were involved in a fatal crash. This Nebraska tragedy has proven Crash Detection works, but in a heartbreaking way.
iPhone 14 Crash Detection Alerts Nebraska First Responders to Fatal Collision
Early Sunday morning, a Honda Accord carrying five men and a woman crashed about three miles east of the state Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska. At around 2:15 a.m. local time, the five men died at the scene of the crash. A 24-year-old woman who was also a passenger died of her injuries later at a hospital.
While police have not released many details about the crash, they did confirm the vehicle struck a tree. First responders got news of the accident when an iPhone 14 in the vehicle automatically called them. The device’s Crash Detection feature placed the call when the phone’s owner didn’t respond.
The driver was 22 years old. The other men in the vehicle included a 21-year-old, one 23-year-old and two 22-year olds. Lincoln Police Assistant Chief Michon Morrow called the tragedy “the worst crash in Lincoln in recent memory.”
We’ve been trying to think of another accident this bad and we haven’t come up with anything.
Lack of Witnesses Could Complicate Finding Cause
Investigators are still looking into exactly what happened, but cannot find any witnesses so far. This, they say, could make it harder to unravel exactly what happened. No names had been released as of this writing, only the ages and genders of the victims.
The cause of this accident is going to take us some time to pin down. We are looking at all possibilities, including alcohol, speed or distracted driving.
Apple’s new Crash Detection feature, available in the iPhone 14, second-generation Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra, has been in the news quite a bit recently. Tech enthusiasts and reporters have attempted to prove the feature’s reliability in staged tests.
These experiments have led to limited success, leading Apple to expound more on how the feature works. This Nebraska tragedy proves Crash Detection does work, but in the most heartbreaking way we can think of.
Sadly, a new iPhone 14 with crash detection did its job and got responders to the scene. But the crash was so severe all 6 occupants (my wife asked how do you fit 6 into a Honda Accord that only seats 5?) died on scene or at hospital. All were less than 23 years old.
My speculation is that at 2:15am time of crash, not much good happens then, late partying, age (although older adults could do this too), typically alcohol, vehicle speed, and distracted driving all play a role.
Unfortunately, we do not yet have Apple CarPlay able to scan, sensor, or otherwise challenge a driver (interlocked ignition, sensing bad driving, accident avoidance) before or at the wheel on their ability to drive, or blood alcohol levels. If it was me, I’d push building those capabilities into the car and it’s software to try to prevent such a tragedy.
Of course, there will be those who still want the ability to do stupid things while driving.
” or blood alcohol levels”
There is an organization who want the technology installed on all new cars
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/ntsb-dui-crashes-blood-alcohol-monitoring-drunk-driving-nhtsa/