Teen driver lay dying as cops ignored his iPhone’s automatic 999 ‘crash call’ after tree smash

COPS ignored a teenage driver’s automatic 999 “crash call” leaving him to die after smashing into a tree, a coroner has heard.

George Dillon, a VW Golf driver, crashed his car into a tree last May, triggering his iPhone’s ‘Crash Detection’ feature to automatically call 999.

George smashed into a large tree on Lee Lane in Romney after losing control of his car on May 18 last year.

His iPhone immediately dialled emergency services, alerting them to a serious crash with a possible risk to life.

But when the cops called back, the phone went straight to voicemail.

Despite the life-saving technology’s best efforts, George’s call for help was met with inaction from Hampshire Constabulary.
Hampshire Constabulary then did nothing to follow up on the call.

They didn’t dispatch officers because they couldn’t hear any distress in the background, and the call didn’t specify an exact location.

This year, an inquest was launched in Winchester on April 24.

Assistant Coroner Henry Charles, who presided over the inquest, revealed the chilling details.

According to Mr. Charles, the control room received the automated call at 10.26pm, but without direct communication or clear evidence of an emergency, police initially did not attend.

The intelligence team’s attempt to trace the phone’s owner led to dead ends, and it wasn’t until a concerned member of the public called 999 at 10.45pm that any action was taken.

The coroner’s report highlighted a tragic failure both in the understanding of new technology and in police training.

Mr. Charles expressed deep concern that the police were unprepared to handle such automated emergency calls.

He wrote in his Prevention of Future Deaths report that the lack of a clear and prompt response to the iPhone’s alert was a serious issue that needs addressing.

Mr Charles said: “The evidence showed that false alarms from electronic devices are frequent, and locations provided are often inaccurate.

“However, the iPhone’s serious crash detection feature was new at the time and required a better understanding and response strategy”.

COPS FACE SCRUTINY

Introduced in 2022, Apple’s crash detection feature aims to automatically call emergency services if it detects a severe car crash.

But, as this case tragically shows, the system’s potential to save lives can be undermined if emergency services are not equipped to handle it effectively.

The coroner has now called for a review of training and procedures within Hampshire Constabulary and other forces to ensure these automated emergency calls are taken seriously.

This crucial technology must be met with the appropriate level of preparedness to prevent future tragedies.

With George Dillon’s family left grieving and many questions unanswered, the inquest has shed light on a critical gap in emergency response protocols.

Mr. Charles has urged the police to improve their handling of automated crash calls and ensure that similar situations are dealt with more effectively in the future.

This shocking inquest comes after figures were released showing police ignored more than half of all vandalism cases in England and Wales last year.

Meanwhile, in another horror crash, a teen girl was recently crushed to death under a car after being flung from a faulty passenger door when a drug-driver made a dangerous turn.