Man trapped under truck says Siri made life-saving call

A woman displays “Siri”, voice-activated assistant technology, on an Apple iPhone 4S in Taipei on July 30, 2012. AFP

WATERHILL, Tennessee—Eighteen-year-old Sam Ray says the voice recognition service on his iPhone, famously named Siri, called emergency dispatchers after his truck fell on him while he tried to make repairs.

Ray tells media outlets that a jack collapsed, pinning him under nearly 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms) of metal in a location where he couldn’t be easily seen or heard. He says he was trying to get free when he heard Siri activate.

He says: “I said ‘Call 911,’ and that was all it said.”

Rutherford County dispatcher Christina Lee says she first thought it was a mistaken pocket-dial, but then she heard his screams for help and sent crews, who rescued him.

Ray and Lee met Friday for the first time after the July 2 incident.

Lee said she knew Ray’s general location from the cellphone signal, but he helped them pinpoint his exact whereabouts by yelling his address. “That was the best thing he could have done.”

When volunteer firefighters arrived, raised the truck and pulled Ray out, he had been under the truck for about 40 minutes.

“I could feel myself slipping,” he said. “I was starting to accept that I wouldn’t get out.”

Rick Miller, who is chief of trauma and surgical care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said Ray suffered broken ribs, a bruised kidney, cuts and a concussion, and he had burns on one arm. Miller said Ray is lucky his wounds weren’t worse.

“Sometimes these crush injuries can be devastating and can kill you,” Miller said.

Ray said he is thankful to be alive.

“I guess I’m stuck with an iPhone for the rest of my life,” he said. “I owe them that.”