Kayla Kelly grieves as mourners gather and lay flowers and gifts at the site of a deadly car crash during an impromptu memorial service on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Lincoln, Neb. (Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP)
LINCOLN, Neb. — A passenger’s iPhone automatically made an emergency call after a crash Sunday that killed the six young people in the car, authorities said.
Five men in the Honda Accord died at the scene of the crash around 2:15 a.m. in Lincoln, police said. A 24-year-old woman died later at a hospital where she was taken in critical condition.
The five men who died included the 26-year-old driver. The other victims were ages 21 to 23.
“This is the worst crash in Lincoln in recent memory,” Lincoln Police Assistant Chief Michon Morrow said. “We’ve been trying to think of another accident this bad and we haven’t come up with anything.”
Investigators hadn’t been able to find any witnesses to the crash by Sunday afternoon.
“The cause of this accident is going to take us some time to pin down,” Morrow said. “We are looking at all possibilities, including alcohol, speed or distracted driving.”
The Honda had apparently been eastbound on a two-lane street in a residential area when it crossed into the other lane, then jumped the curb and hit a tree in a front yard.
The emergency notification came from an iPhone 14, which has the Crash Detection feature. If the phone senses a sudden stop consistent with a severe vehicle crash, it gives the user 20 seconds to cancel the “emergency SOS” or make their own 911 call. If the user doesn’t respond, the phone calls emergency services and plays an audio loop including the location coordinates of the presumed crash. The newest Apple Watch also has the feature.
Originally published at The Associated Press