Apple Watch saves life of 92-year old Nebraska farmer who fell 21 feet from ladder

Apple Watch Series 4
Apple Watch Series 4 (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • A 92-year old farmer says his Apple Watch saved his life.
  • That's after he fell 21 feet from a ladder last month.
  • The watch sent an emergency alert to a local fire department, who found him using GPS.

A 92-year old farmer from Nebraska says his Apple Watch saved his life after he fell 21-feet from a ladder last month.

As reported by KETV:

Grant, Nebraska, farmer said his Apple Watch saved his life. It automatically alerted rescuers when 92-year-old Jim Salsman fell off a ladder, plunging 21-feet to the ground below.The retired farmer is recovering from a broken hip and other fractures at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln.

According to the report, Salsman climbed the ladder to stop pigeons from messing with a grain bin when the wind pushed his ladder about two feet. Salsman (who is 92 remember), hit the ground and tried to roll to his truck, which was several hundred feet away. With no one else around he tried to use Siri to send a message: 'Hey Siri Jim Salsman, hurt bad on the farm'

Fortunately for Jim, his Watch's fall detection system had already been triggered and had sent an alert to the Grant Volunteer Fire Department, who responded and were able to find Jim using GPS.

Jim is currently receiving treatment and therapy for a broken hip and some other fractures at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln.

Back in April, Apple Watch was credited with saving the life of a man who suffered from Atrial Fibrillation. In that story, the Watch alerted the gentleman to an abnormal heartbeat range, alerting him to call 911 so he could receive emergency treatment.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9