Since its debut, the Apple Watch’s fall detection feature has proven to be a life-saving feature. Now, a man in Minnesota is not only crediting his Apple Watch with calling for help after he was hit by a car in front of his own house, but he also scored a “get well” message from Apple CEO Tim Cook.
WCCO News reports Michael Brodkorb was standing in his driveway when he heard a loud car nearby. He “took a few steps into the street” to investigate and was almost immediately struck by the car. The driver of the car, says Brodkorb, kept driving and didn’t stop to check on him.
Luckily, Brodkorb was wearing his Apple Watch, which registered the impact as a hard fall. When Brodkorb didn’t respond to the fall notification, the Apple Watch automatically called 911 and texted his emergency contacts. Brodkorb suffered injuries to his ribs and tailbone.
“Took a few steps out into the street and the car came around the corner and just hit me,” he said. “I just was shocked. I mean, just the sheer force of what it’s like to get hit by a vehicle.”
“The Apple Watch knew that I had taken a hard fall and that I wasn’t responding in a specific amount of time, so the watch called 911,” he said. “I laid there, and my family had to come out and find me. That’s a difficult scenario.”
Brodkorb reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook to explain what happened. Surprisingly, Cook replied. “He wished me a speedy recovery and let me know that this is why they design these types of features,” Brodkorb said.
Police have identified the driver of the hit-and-run car as a 17-year-old whose “family reached out to the department after the crash.” Police have “interviewed the teenager and are finishing their investigation before a charging decision can be made.”
Brodkorb says this was also an example of how social media can be used for good. he says online “detectives” helped identify the vehicle after he posted a picture of it.