PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — An iPhone SOS crash notification alerted emergency responders to a cliffside rescue in Pierce County overnight.
According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, a Search and Rescue (SAR) crew first received the notification at around 10:20 p.m. last night and headed about 12 miles up into the mountains above Wilkeson, where they found two people walking down the road.
The people said they had been involved in a rollover collision near the top of the mountain, where their vehicle slid off a cliff. They also said that the driver and one passenger were still with the vehicle.
At around 12:30 a.m. SAR found the vehicle approximately 250 feet down a cliff. At 1:13 a.m., both patients were found. According to the sheriff’s office, both people were thrown from the vehicle, and both were trapped in critical condition. One of the two was trapped under the engine of the vehicle, rescuers said.
The sheriff’s office requested additional resources since the conditions were so cold, wet, and foggy and the location was difficult to reach.
SAR techs, volunteers (including a doctor), and fire crews were with the patients on the side of the mountain and were trying to stabilize the patient(s) before moving them.
Through the night and into the morning, emergency responders worked on safely extracting the two from the cliffside crash, which deputies say is along Forest Service Road NF110, near T-Rex Falls.
As of 8:30 a.m. Friday morning, after a marathon 11-hour rescue mission, both patients were airlifted
iPhone SOS Crash Detection
iPhone Crash Detection automatically detects and alerts emergency services and your designated contacts if you are in a severe car crash and cannot reach your phone.
Crash Detection works on these iPhone and Apple Watch models:
- iPhone 14 or later (all models) with iOS 16 or later
- Apple Watch Series 8 or later, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), and Apple Watch Ultra or later with watchOS 9 or later
On supported iPhone and Apple Watch models, Crash Detection is turned on by default and requires a satellite connection, cellular connection, or Wi-Fi.
You can also follow these steps to make sure that your device is able to share the information that your emergency contacts and emergency responders need.
- To alert your emergency contacts and share your Medical ID with emergency responders, set up your Medical ID and your emergency contacts in the Health app.
- To share your location with your emergency contacts, turn on Location Services for Emergency SOS: On your iPhone, tap Settings, then tap Privacy & Security. Tap Location Services, then tap System Services, and make sure Emergency Calls & SOS is turned on.
To learn more, visit: support.apple.com/en-us/104959
Android Car Crash Detection is also available primarily on Google Pixel phones and select other Android devices. To learn more, visit: Get help in an emergency using your Pixel phone
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