Great-grandad, 82, survived being mown down by a car by calmly dialling 999 on his Apple watch
- 2 months ago
An 82-year-old great-grandad survived being mown down by a car by calmly dialling 999 on his Apple watch as he lay injured in the road.
Tony Jauncey, 82, was crossing the street in Kidderminster, Worcs., when a car turned the corner and collided with him.
CCTV shows Tony being hurled through the air and landing on his back following the horror crash on January 19.
The driver of the car stopped and tried to help Tony but the quick-thinking pensioner had already called for help.
Despite having a broken collar bone, cracked ribs and severe bruising to his right leg, Tony managed to dial 999 from his Apple watch.
The gadget sent Tony's GPS location to the emergency services and minutes later paramedics and police were at the scene.
Tony, who has four children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, was rushed to hospital where he spent a week recovering from his "life-changing" injuries.
The retired bookkeeper has since returned home and says he acted “on auto-pilot” following the crash.
He said: “I was walking back to my car which was parked in Aldi and was crossing the road when I felt a thud.
“The next thing I saw was the bumper of a car in front of me.
“I was lying in the road, I was not able to move.
“The other thing I’d like to point out is my Apple watch. I was able to immediately dial 999 just seconds after being hit by the car.
"The watch detected a fall and asked if I wanted to call the emergency services and I pressed a button on the side of the phone which confirmed the request."
Tony, who lives with wife Shirley, 82, in Hartlebury, Worcs., was given the watch by his family for Christmas.
He added: “The modern technology and the capabilities we have are just incredible and may have saved my life.
"This roundabout is very dangerous, it always has been. The driver cut the corner and didn't see me."
Three off-duty nurses who happened to be passing put him in a comfortable position while they waited for an ambulance.
Tony added: “There were lots of people who came over to help which really put me at ease.
“This could easily have been a fatal accident particularly had there been a child involved.”
He was treated at Russell’s Hall Hospital in nearby Brierly Hill where doctors treated his “life-changing injuries”.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 12.30pm on Friday 19th January to a road traffic collision involving a car and a pedestrian at the junction of Marlborough Street and Oxford Street in Kidderminster.
“One ambulance attended the scene. Upon arrival, we found an elderly man who was the pedestrian who had sustained serious injuries.
“He received treatment at the scene from ambulance staff before being conveyed to hospital.”
Tony Jauncey, 82, was crossing the street in Kidderminster, Worcs., when a car turned the corner and collided with him.
CCTV shows Tony being hurled through the air and landing on his back following the horror crash on January 19.
The driver of the car stopped and tried to help Tony but the quick-thinking pensioner had already called for help.
Despite having a broken collar bone, cracked ribs and severe bruising to his right leg, Tony managed to dial 999 from his Apple watch.
The gadget sent Tony's GPS location to the emergency services and minutes later paramedics and police were at the scene.
Tony, who has four children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, was rushed to hospital where he spent a week recovering from his "life-changing" injuries.
The retired bookkeeper has since returned home and says he acted “on auto-pilot” following the crash.
He said: “I was walking back to my car which was parked in Aldi and was crossing the road when I felt a thud.
“The next thing I saw was the bumper of a car in front of me.
“I was lying in the road, I was not able to move.
“The other thing I’d like to point out is my Apple watch. I was able to immediately dial 999 just seconds after being hit by the car.
"The watch detected a fall and asked if I wanted to call the emergency services and I pressed a button on the side of the phone which confirmed the request."
Tony, who lives with wife Shirley, 82, in Hartlebury, Worcs., was given the watch by his family for Christmas.
He added: “The modern technology and the capabilities we have are just incredible and may have saved my life.
"This roundabout is very dangerous, it always has been. The driver cut the corner and didn't see me."
Three off-duty nurses who happened to be passing put him in a comfortable position while they waited for an ambulance.
Tony added: “There were lots of people who came over to help which really put me at ease.
“This could easily have been a fatal accident particularly had there been a child involved.”
He was treated at Russell’s Hall Hospital in nearby Brierly Hill where doctors treated his “life-changing injuries”.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 12.30pm on Friday 19th January to a road traffic collision involving a car and a pedestrian at the junction of Marlborough Street and Oxford Street in Kidderminster.
“One ambulance attended the scene. Upon arrival, we found an elderly man who was the pedestrian who had sustained serious injuries.
“He received treatment at the scene from ambulance staff before being conveyed to hospital.”