Dramatic body camera footage showed Florida deputies rescuing a driver whose car ended up submerged in a canal after the victim's iPhone sent out an S.O.S. signal.
Martin County Sheriff's Office officials said 911 dispatchers were alerted early Wednesday after the crash prompted the driver's phone to send the alert with automated coordinates.
Using the coordinates, deputies responded and found the car upside down in the dark, murky canal waters, officials said.
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Deputies could hear the injured man pleading for help and jumped into the water to help get him out of the car.
"Ok buddy, I got you, we're gonna figure a way in," one deputy can be heard telling the driver in the video. "Stay back from the window buddy, I'm gonna bust it, ok?"
The man was taken to a local hospital where he was expected to make a full recovery.
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Officials said the driver told him he crashed into the water in attempt to avoid an animal in the road.
The car crash detection feature that was used to save the man was launched in September 2022 on the iPhone 14 and has saved others in recent events. It's also sent out alerts when users are riding a roller coaster.
Apple says the feature is “designed to detect severe car crashes” and it will call “emergency services after a 20-second delay.”
"We would like to commend our brave deputies and incredible dispatchers for their perseverance and bravery locating and rescuing this crash victim using only coordinates automatically launched from the victim’s phone," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Amazing technology, and amazing work."
