'Crash detection' iPhone feature saves veteran's life during Gilbert crash

GILBERT, Ariz. - A veteran in Gilbert is thankful to be alive after he was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident, and we're learning more about how an iPhone setting may have saved his life.

If Michael Brennan is riding his motorcycle, he makes sure to text his wife to let her know where he's at.

It's what his iPhone did minutes after a crash that got him the care he needed.

In September 2023, Michael retired from the Air Force after serving for 20 years. Less than a month later, his wife's worst nightmare came true.

"I sent that text, said, 'Hey, I'm on my way home.' Then, yeah, she knows what happened next," he said.

Sheena Brennan says her husband was riding his motorcycle at the intersection of Queen Creek and Alma School roads. A driver made a left on a flashing yellow light at the same time as her husband was entering the intersection in the opposite direction.

He tried to avoid the car, but couldn't.

"Yeah, he doesn't remember any of it, but I got the text at 5:13 that said, ‘Headed home, babe.’ Then at 5:20, I got the – and it's not a text that he sent – the Apple app automatically sent it, so it detected the crash and sent me that text," Sheena said.

His phone immediately notified his emergency contacts and automatically called 911.

"You know, my phone, to my knowledge, was the first phone call that 911 had received," Michael said.

His injuries could have turned deadly if it wasn't for the quick response of first responders who got the call seconds after the crash.

"The response time, since they got there so fast, they got him there enough to treat him and keep him calm and put him on the meds he needed to make sure his blood pressure stayed low, his heart rate stayed low, so it didn't burst, and they told me only 2% of people even make it to the hospital. Most people die instantly," Sheena said.

Michael had open-heart surgery. He was in the ICU for 5 weeks and for 3 of those weeks, he was unconscious.

"Despite this, I'm actually doing pretty good," he said.

The past few months have been full of doctor appointments and bringing awareness to the iPhone feature.

"Settings and then scroll down to the emergency service and then call after severe crash and then set your emergency contacts," he explained.

Crash detection, Apple says, is available on "an iPhone 14 or later with iOS 16 or later."

The Brennan family shared their story because they hope it helps save someone else's life.

Another tip they had is if you are in an emergency, you can hold the two side buttons down until the SOS emergency call pops up.