Lincoln, Nebraska Police Alerted to Horrific Car Crash by iOS 16 Crash Detection

Some very unpleasant local news (content warning: car crash, loss of life) crossed my feed this morning in what is also the first incidence I've seen of the new iPhone's Crash Detection feature in action. Early Sunday morning in Lincoln, Nebraska (about 45 minutes from where I sit), the Lincoln Police Department report that they were alerted to a car crash via the iPhone 14 (or possibly Apple Watch S8)'s automatic Crash Detection feature. Sadly, this crash was particularly violent and resulted in the loss of six young lives after many hours of emergency crew efforts. From the WOWT story:

Police are still investigating the cause of the crash but said it was reported by an iPhone that detected the impact and called responders automatically when the phone’s owner didn’t respond.

Although in this horrible incident it seems the iPhone 14/Apple Watch S8 Crash Detection feature was not enough to save any lives, it is a remarkable example of the feature in action. Nearby neighbors seem to have been on the scene and immediately attempted to rescue the passengers, and no doubt would have called 9-1-1. I am hopeful, though, how much time was saved by iOS's automatic emergency alerting — and how much of an impact that saved time will have in future crashes.