Detection of iPhone crash leads police to teens shot in parked car that showed no signs of accident

Apple’s crash detection feature led police to find 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 crash when they arrived on 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 crash detection feature is designed to recognize ‘serious car accidents” – which include rollovers and head-on, side and rear collisions – and connect users to emergency services, according to Apple.

It is currently unclear what exactly caused the iPhone to mistakenly send a crash alert.

But it’s possible that the sudden, violent impact of a gunshot could be interpreted by the phone’s sensors as a serious car accident.

Vega and Deleon were taken to 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 the case as a double homicide. Detectives have not revealed whether they are pursuing a suspect, have identified a shooter or established a motive.

Authorities have not released further details about the incident.

iPhones use several built-in tools to accurately detect a car accident, including a gyroscope, high-accelerometer, GPS, barometer, microphone, and advanced motion algorithms.

When the device detects a serious crash, it will sound an alarm and display an alert for 10 seconds. A slider appears at the bottom of the screen that allows the victim to call emergency services directly.

If the victim does not interact with the iPhone within 10 seconds after the alert is displayed, a 10-second countdown begins. At the end, the device automatically contacts emergency services.

When emergency services answer, the dispatcher 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 indicate the estimated location of the accident and a search radius.

But it’s not exactly a perfect system.

Other activities like riding a roller coaster, experiencing a hard fall, or experiencing sudden, intense changes in motion – such as driving on very uneven terrain – are known to trigger this safety feature, triggering false positive alerts.

For example, emergency services received several false accident reports from King Island, an amusement park near Cincinnati, Ohio, as people brought their iPhones on rides.

And earlier this week, local firefighters in Suamico, Wisconsin, reported receiving false accident reports caused by people accidentally leaving their iPhone on top of their vehicle and then driving away, causing the phone to suddenly fall to the ground. ground.

Other activities such as riding a roller coaster, experiencing a hard fall, or experiencing sudden and intense changes in movement are known to trigger this safety feature.

It appears that this type of false alarm is what happened in the early morning hours of October 12, as there was no evidence of an accident when police arrived at the scene of Vega and Deleon’s murder.

Detectives say they are actively following 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 regarding the case. They can contact lead investigator Michael Aziz at 770-920-3923 or by email at [email protected].

GoFundMe accounts have been set up for Vega and Deleon’s funeral expenses.

Vega’s describes her as a “shining light” who was “known for her kindness, laughter and unwavering support for those she loved.”

“Beatriz was taken from us far too soon in a tragic incident that left everyone who knew her in shock and grief,” the GoFundMe read.