The Apple Watch has been credited with saving another life, with a man crediting the device for summoning help after his car crashed, leaving him submerged upside down in a pool.
A car crashed into a pool - Image Credit: WesternMassNews
On December 16, Brent Hill of Easthampton, MA was driving his car home but felt nauseous behind the wheel. While he doesn't remember what happened next due to blacking out, his Apple Watch stepped in to help in the following moments.
Camera footage from a neighbor shows Hill's car accelerating into their garage and into the neighbor's swimming pool, landing upside down, reports WesternMassNews.
It is assumed that Hill's weight shifted after he blacked out, placing more weight on the accelerator.
"I didn't know any of this was going on," Hill admits."When I saw the footage of my car careening down the street and crashing, I was shocked because of how fast I was going."
The next memory Hill has of the misadventure is regaining consciousness thanks to a small voice speaking to him. Apple Watch Crash Detection called emergency services automatically, and an operator was trying to speak to him.
"If emergency services had not contacted me through that watch and just coached me through that, there's no way I would've got out of there," he adds.
Within minutes, responders arrived to rescue him. He could barely hear any of the people outside the car, but the Apple Watch voice helped him.
Hill admits "I didn't know where I was and that person just kept me calm and, if that probably not have happened, I probably would have drowned."
Following the rescue from the pool, Hill was treated for minor injuries at the hospital.
Neighbor Elizabeth Laprade-Appelquist added to the Apple Watch praise, saying it was amazing to hear how the features helped get assistance.
"My husband was upstairs and so he called 911 and he was on the phone with 911 and they said Oh yeah, we're talking to the driver right now' which later we found out is the beauty of the Apple Watch," she offers. "They were comforting him because he was saying the water was coming in and I just thought that part was miraculous."
The Crash Detection feature has repeatedly helped drivers and passengers in need in hazardous situations. Repeatedly it has helped secure help following violent crashes, as well as more challenging events.
In February 2023, Crash Detection helped a group in Germany, after their car skipped a guardrail and fell 60 feet below the roadway late at night.