(Daily Mail) The new crash detection feature on the iPhone 14 alerted police to a tragic wreck on Sunday that left all six young passengers in the vehicle dead.
Officers say the the black Honda Accord slammed into a tree in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the early hours of the morning.
Five men died at the scene at around 2.15am, while a 24-year-old woman was left in critical condition and died later at a nearby hospital.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, an iPhone 14 belonging to one of the passengers alerted emergency services to the scene.
The iPhone feature meant first responders were made aware of the incident, despite there being no other witnesses to what police have described as ‘the worst crash in Lincoln in recent memory.’
The 22-year-old driver has not been named. The other victims were one 21-year-old, one 23-year-old and two 22-year-olds – including a man by the name of Jonathan Koch. It’s unclear what caused the crash, but police say the group of friends were driving home at the time.
Six people in their 20s were killed in a car crash in Lincoln, Nebraska on Sunday
Police have described as ‘the worst crash in Lincoln in recent memory’
The iPhone 14 features a new sensor with a high-G-force accelerometer that detects when the user has been in a car crash, such as ‘side impact, rear end collision and rollovers’
Brad Bartak told WOWT that the crash happened on his front lawn. His son and daughter ran into his room saying that someone had ‘hit out tree’.
Six people died in the crash in Lincoln, Nebraska including 22-year-old Jonathan Koch
He and his other neighbors jumped into action, and tried to help before the first responders arrived. ‘I noticed that there was actually a fire coming from the engine… I basically grabbed the garden hose and ran it up to the car and we were dousing it,’ he said.
Emergency responders were working at the scene for at least five hours after they arrived, onlookers said.
Upon hearing the news of the tragic crash, families and friends gathered at the scene on Bartak’s lawn.
KETV reported the scene was littered with shredded tree bark.
The local news outlet said skid marks could be seen along the road leading up to the tree where the car crashed.
Officers say the car slammed into the tree, but further details have not yet been revealed.
Tributes poured in for Koch from those who gathered there.
Jonathan’s sister, Kayla Kelley, said: ‘Life is so short. In the blink of an eye, the world is just shattering around you.’
She added: ‘He was the most amazing person you’d ever meet.’
