Shropshire Star

Woman's smart watch calls police after her car overturns in crash

Police were called out to a crash in which a woman's car had overturned in south Shropshire - by a distress call from her smart watch.

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The car overturned in Owl's Lane, near to Lydham, Bishop's Castle, at 9pm on Thursday.

The driver's watch's crash detection function sent a recorded message to West Mercia Police's control room, notifying them that she had been involved in a crash.

Upon arrival, police found that the car had overturned, but the driver had been able to free herself from the car.

The woman, understood to be in her 30s, was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

West Mercia Police, the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service and West Midlands Ambulance Service all attended.

Firefighters gave the woman first aid while awaiting the arrival of the ambulance service.

Jeremy Layton, communications officer at West Mercia Police said: "At just after 9pm on Thursday, police responded to a report of a one-car collision in Owl's Lane in Lydham.

"The car has overturned and was on its roof. The driver, a woman in her 30s, was the only occupant of the vehicle and she was treated by ambulance at the scene of the collision.

"Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service also attended. It does mention in our log that there may have been a cat in the road."

A statement from the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "No persons trapped. First aid was given to the casualty by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service while awaiting the arrival of an ambulance."

Amy Stubbs, communications officer at West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We were called to reports of a collision on Owl’s Lane near Lydham, Bishops Castle at 9.01pm.

"One ambulance was sent to the scene where, on arrival, crews discovered one car had been involved in a collision.

"Ambulance staff treated one female patient, the driver, for minor injuries before conveying her to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for further treatment."

Crash detection is designed to detect severe car crashes, including front impact, side impact, as well as rear-end collisions and rollovers.

The technology is available on some smartphones, smart watches and is also present in some vehicles where an alert can be sent to police.