Apple Watch Places 999 Call Amid M25 Black Out — A Driver Survives When Tech Steps In

A sales consultant from East Sussex was oblivious to a heart condition when she was driving in August of last year. Jeni Ashdown from Eastbourne blacked out as she was driving on the motorway in Sussex, heading to the M25.

In her recollection of the incident, the 36-year-old started fading as she was merging onto the M25, but couldn't reach for her phone to dial 999. In her half-conscious state, she manoeuvred her vehicle onto the hard shoulder on the side of the road. Ashdown later found out that her Apple Watch had called emergency services and that an operator was on the other line.

Apple's Crash Detection

Several iPhone and Apple Watch models support Crash Detection, a feature that detects crashes and contacts emergency services on behalf of the user if they are unable to. Supported iPhone models are iPhone 14 or later, or all models with iOS 16 or later; Apple Watch Series 8 and later, the 2nd generation Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra with watchOS 9 or later.

The feature, which requires a satellite connection for some devices and a cellular connection from a nearby iPhone or Wi-Fi with newer devices, can make emergency calls in many global locations, as long as cellular service is available. Crash detection detects severe car crashes that involve sedans, minivans, pickup trucks, and SUVs. Car crashes include front and side impacts, rear-end collisions, and rollovers.

After a car crash, your Apple device will connect you to emergency services, and if you're unresponsive within 10 seconds of the device contacting emergency services, another 30-second countdown will initiate, during which the device makes loud sounds to get your attention. Failure to respond to the loud sounds from the Apple device will prompt it to call emergency services.

A Terrifying Ordeal

Jeni Ashdown said of her ordeal that has left her terrified, 'It was one of those things that a lot of people fear could happen to them. It was really frightening. I was merging from the M23 to the M25, driving back from a client workshop. I'd just told my daughter I was on my way home,' per The Sun UK.

Ashdown said she was relatively fine when her heart started racing out of nowhere. Like a switch, she was coming in and out of consciousness within seconds. She said, 'My watch saved me from the situation I was in. I couldn't reach my phone; I was head on the steering wheel, out of it. It was very dramatic: I was fine until I wasn't fine. My phone was in my rucksack and there was no way I could have reached it.'

Within the next few seconds, Ashdown found herself talking to 999 via her Apple watch, not recalling where she was instantly. According to her, her watch had helped her contact emergency services for help, and had also recorded data she shared with the doctors.

'Paramedics had to send a What3Words message to me and I was able to press it on my watch,' she recalled. What3Words is an app that allows users to share and save precise locations. The app assigned 3-word addresses to every 3 metre square location across the globe.

Jeni Ashdown has been diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome since the incident. She has a family history of heart problems. She has sworn never to take her watch off again and sent an email to Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, thanking him for saving her life.