A 28-year-old male from Delaware in the US is giving his Apple Watch full credit for still being alive.
James Prudenciano and Paige Paruso went hiking in a 736-acre county park in New Jersey a few days ago. They somehow managed to lose their way in the woods, and eventually landed up on a steep cliff.
Once it started to get dark, they made a decision: they would slide down the cliff in the hope of landing on firm ground.
That’s when they found out that there was nothing else beneath them than rocks and the water of the Navesink River.
Prudenciano said that they eventually reached the bottom of the cliff, but when he looked down, he could only see a vertical drop to the water and rocks far below.
They hung on for dear life, but he didn’t believe they would survive. His partner subsequently fell into the river and shouted that she was injured but alive.
At this stage, Prudenciano was shouting that he was about to die, because he firmly believed it to be the case. In the end, he couldn’t hold on any longer and also dropped to the river far below.
He was unfortunate enough to land on a rock, suffering several fractures in his back and some less serious scratches. In the process, a couple of thorns also got embedded in his foot.
This is when his Apple Watch decided that enough was enough: its sensors picked up a ‘hard fall’ and dialled 911. According to Prudenciano’s mother, she got three SMS messages informing her about the emergency.
Local police said that the two victims were transferred to a passing boat during the rescue operation.
They were then taken to a pier, and from there they were transported to the medical centre at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University where their injuries were treated.