I-phone crash detection feature credited with quick medical response for crash victim

A relatively new tool to emergency personnel was used overnight Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Fond du Lac County.

The I-phone crash detection setting on newer I-phones automatically dials 911 when the phone senses a significant impact to it. The 911 dispatcher then sees the GPS location of the phone and sends emergency crews.

In many cases, the phone was placed on the car and forgotten about and when the driver pulls off, the phone falls to the ground.

However Tuesday night around 11:30, a crash detection came in on Prairie Road, west of Oakfield.

A deputy first on the scene found a vehicle out in a field on its roof. Upon investigation, the car was unoccupied but had a significant amount of blood inside it.

Other deputies as well as Oakfield Fire Department and first responders, and Lifestar Ambulance out of Waupun responded to the scene and started looking for the driver.

She was located walking nearby and was tended to by medical personnel.

Without the crash notification, a crash like that, in a rural area, could go hours without being discovered, delaying medical treatment for victims.