A 21-year-old Texas mother, Jolie Pesina, was found deceased in her vehicle 37 hours after a car crash that her iPhone alerted emergency services to. Pesina was driving to work in San Antonio on November 17 when her car went through a guardrail and into a creek.
Records indicate that Pesina's iPhone utilized Apple's Crash Detection system, which repeatedly sent the exact coordinates of the crash to 911 dispatch. The alert stated, "The owner of this iPhone was in a severe car crash and is not responding to the phone." However, audio obtained by a local news station revealed that the dispatcher spoke over the alert message. Officers were dispatched to a nearby location and conducted a search for approximately 15 minutes before concluding the call, according to dispatch audio.
Despite the repeated location data from the iPhone, surveillance footage showed officers driving along the highway, blocks away from the actual crash site. One officer requested helicopter assistance to search a wooded area off the highway, but this request was denied. Shortly after the helicopter request was rejected, officers ended their search, reportedly after traffic cameras did not show signs of a crash.
On November 18, approximately 37 hours after the crash, Pesina's family began their own search at the coordinates provided by her phone. Her boyfriend's father contacted 911 to report, "We found the vehicle in a ditch." He informed the dispatcher, "She’s deceased. She’s deceased."
An autopsy report from the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office determined Pesina died from blunt force injuries sustained in the crash. The report did not specify how long she survived after the impact, but noted her head was above water when she was found and showed no signs of drowning. It remains unclear if she could have survived had she been found sooner.
Pesina's mother, Mercy Villarreal, expressed her grief, stating, "I believe if they would have done their job, they would have found her, but they didn't." She added, "I just feel like they failed her. And she was there by herself from Monday to Tuesday. And it really hurts. They could've done more."
Pesina leaves behind a young daughter. A GoFundMe established by her family stated, "She was in a terrible accident, and despite her iPhone sending out a crash alert, she was not found, not helped, not saved. Hours passed and she was still out there alone."