Apple’s crash detection feature led police to two teenagers who had been shot in a car in Georgia, authorities said.
Officers responded to the collision alert, but found no signs of a vehicle accident. when they arrived at the scene in Douglasville at 3:30 a.m. ET on October 12.
Instead, they found Beatriz Vega, 17, and Roberto Deleon, 19, in the front seats of the vehicle parked on West Stewart Mill Road.
The iPhone’s fault detection feature is designed to recognize ‘“serious car accidents,” including rollovers and front, side and rear collisions, and connect users to emergency services, according to Apple.
It is currently unclear what caused the iPhone to mistakenly send a failure alert.
But it’s possible that the phone’s sensors interpret the sudden, forceful impact of a gunshot as a serious car accident.
Vega and Deleon were transported to a hospital but later died from their injuries.
The iPhone’s crash detection feature is designed to recognize “serious car accidents” and connect users to emergency services.
Police are currently investigating this case as a double homicide. Detectives have not revealed whether they are pursuing a suspect, have identified the shooter or have established a motive.
Authorities have not released further details of the incident.
iPhones use several built-in tools to accurately detect a car crash, including a gyroscope, high-gravity accelerometer, GPS, barometer, microphone, and advanced motion algorithms.
When the device detects a serious accident, it sounds an alarm and displays an alert for 10 seconds. A slider appears at the bottom of the screen allowing the victim to call emergency services directly.
If the victim does not interact with the iPhone within 10 seconds of displaying the alert, a 10-second countdown will begin. When finished, the device automatically contacts emergency services.
When emergency services respond, the operator hears the following message from Siri: “The owner of this iPhone was in a serious car accident and is not answering his phone.”
Siri will also report the estimated location of the accident and a search radius.
But it’s not exactly a perfect system.
Other activities, such as riding a roller coaster, taking a hard fall, or experiencing sudden, intense changes in motion, such as driving over bumpy terrain, are known to trigger this safety feature, generating false positive alerts.
For example, emergency services have received several false reports of accidents at King Island, an amusement park near Cincinnati, Ohio, due to people bringing their iPhones onto the attractions.
And earlier this week, the local fire department in Suamico, Wisconsin, reported that they had received false reports of accidents caused by people accidentally leaving their iPhones on top of their vehicles and then driving away, causing the phone to crash. suddenly fell to the ground.
Other activities such as riding a roller coaster, taking a hard fall, or experiencing sudden, intense changes in motion are known to trigger this safety feature.
It would appear that this type of false alert is what occurred in the early morning hours of October 12, as there was no evidence of an accident when officers arrived at the scene of Vega and Deleon’s murder.
Detectives say they are actively pursuing leads and reviewing evidence to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
The Sheriff’s Office has asked the public to release any information they may have in connection with the case. You can contact lead investigator Michael Aziz at 770-920-3923 or email maziz@sheriff.douglas.ga.us.
GoFundMe accounts have been created for Vega and Deleon’s funeral expenses.
Vega describes her as a “bright light” who was “known for her kindness, laughter and unwavering support of her loved ones.”
“Beatriz was taken from us too soon in a tragic incident that has left everyone who knew her in shock and mourning,” the GoFundMe reads.
