It seems the Apple Watch Series 4’s ECG functionality gets all the headlines for saving lives laterly, but the device’s less-heralded fall detection feature is grabbing the headlines this time around. An 87-woman in Maine says the feature came to her aid following a car accident.
TECHNOLOGY SAVES THE DAY: Meet Dotty White! After being involved in a car accident earlier this month, the 87 y/o says she has peace of mind knowing help is just a call away…even if she can't reach her phone. Details tonight on @newscentermaine at 5 & 6. pic.twitter.com/febEoT49o4
— Samantha York (@samanthayorkME) June 26, 2019
News Center Maine reports Dotty White what on her way home from a grocery run in Kennebunk, Maine when she was involved in an auto accident.
“Apparently a woman came out of a road here and ran straight into me,” White said.
Following the accident, White couldn’t reach her phone to call emergency services, but her Apple Watch had already sprung into action. The Apple Watch had registered the accident as a hard fall, which triggered the device’s fall detection feature. The Watch then alerted first responders and family members.
“The watch dialed my son in Florida, it dialed my daughter in Massachusetts and my daughter in Maine,” White said. “So they knew something had happened and they knew where it happened.”
Her son, James White, says he was notified instantly through a text message. He immediately called his sister, who — after receiving the message herself — rushed to her mother’s side. “It was really helpful to get that message,” James White said. “I knew mom was all set at that point.”
White suffered only a few broken bones in the accident, but she grateful for the assist from her Apple Watch. “It’s pretty nice to just have it on your wrist,” Dotty said. “You have the time, the weather and help.”
Fall tracking debuted alongside the Apple Watch Series 4. Although the feature is disabled by default for Watch users under the age of 65, but it can be manually enabled.
