Teenage driver, 19, who crashed car into tree lay dying despite sending iPhone alert to call 999 - but police did not attend the scene By Matt Strudwick Published: 07:54, 16 September 2024 | Updated: 08:17, 16 September 2024 e-mail 1 View comments A teenage driver lay dying after his car crashed into a tree despite his iPhone automatically calling 999, an inquest has heard. George Dillon, 19, lost control of his Volkswagen Golf on a crest in the road in Romsey, near Southampton, and smashed into a large tree. His Apple device automatically dialled the emergency number to alert authorities that he had been in 'a serious car crash and was not responding' to his phone.
But the police did not initially attend the scene when operators logged there was 'no direct request made' and nothing 'distinctive' could be heard in the background with no sounds of distress or disturbance. The police had called back but it went straight to voicemail and the department's intelligence team 'drew a blank' attempting to identify the caller. George Dillon, 19, lost control of his Volkswagen Golf on a crest in the road in Romsey, near Southampton, and smashed into a large tree in May last year His Apple phone automatically dialled the emergency number to alert authorities that he had been in 'a serious car crash and was not responding' to his phone Mr Dillon, who had only got the car three weeks earlier, suffered 'catastrophic and unsurvivable' injuries in the smash.
Officers were called to the scene.