William Gallagher
An 82-year-old who was given an Apple Watch for Christmas, says it may have saved his life after a car hit him.
Footage has now been released of the incident at a roundabout in Kidderminster, in the UK, on January 19, 2024. The stereotypical image of a British roundabout is a large and grassy island with four or more roads coming off it, but this one was a small, painted circle at an intersection.
While rare in the US, roundabouts are proven to be safer for both drivers and pedestrians, but in this case the circle was completely ignored. The driver cut a corner, not even driving in the correct lane, and smashed into 82-year-old Tony Jauncey, who was walking across the road.
According to local newspaper the Shropshire Star, Jauncey has survived the incident with a broken collar bone, cracked ribs and severe bruising. The paper has also published startling, not to say distressing, CCTV footage of the incident.
Jauncey's new Apple Watch, given to him as a present less than a month earlier, immediately rang the emergency services.
"I was walking back to my car which was parked in [British supermarket] Aldi and was crossing the road when I felt a thud," Jauncey told the newspaper. ""The next thing I saw was the bumper of a car in front of me... I was lying in the road, I was not able to move."
"The other thing I'd like to point out is my Apple Watch," he continued. "The watch detected a fall and asked if I wanted to call the emergency services."
"I could cancel the request by pressing a button on the side of the phone," he said, "but I left it and as a result the phone called [UK emergency number] 999."
Jauncey says that the driver stopped and came to help, as did three off-duty nurses who happened to be in the area. "There were lots of people who came over to help which really put me at ease," he said.
The fall and crash detection features of Apple Watch have now saved the lives of countless drivers. It was introduced with the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018.
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
5 Comments
So how again did the watch save him? The driver of the vehicle, as well as three nurses, were on the scene to help him. I'm sure they could also call for assistance. Just because someone is wearing an Apple Watch doesn't mean it "saved" him. If Apple has to reach that far to promote its product, its value is questioned.
Once I read about a ham radio operator who broke his ankle on a hike in Oregon. The piece said he was able to connect to another radio operator in Montana who contacted S&R to assist the person on the trail in Oregon. I contacted the ham because I was curious how, with a broken ankle, he was able to put up the required Antenna (usually a 30 ft length of wire).
Turns out, the guy was assisted by four hikers who were on the same trail; one was an EMT. The other hikers put up the antenna. The EMT attended to the ankle as best he could. The injured hiker had shelter and food. Because there was nothing left to do but wait for S&R to arrive to help him out, the others continued their hike. Quite a different take than the original headline.
So again - how did this watch save the pedestrian who was already attended to by the driver and three nurses?
If Apple Watch would last more than a day and a half, I would absolutely get one for my 95 year old mom. She would not tolerate a device she has to charge every single day.
Chasm, While I agree with the potential of the Apple Watch, the article title said it SAVED him, Your comments, though presenting facts about the watch's features, did not at all address the issue of the problem; i.e., the claim that the watch saved him. Do you work in Microsoft tech support?
The driver, staying on the scene to help, could certainly provide more support than just saying he's sorry. Perhaps you haven't been in critical situations where everyone willing to be involved can contribute.