The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

New iPhone feature alerts emergency services to dramatic tractor crash in Canterbury

Nathan Morton
By Nathan Morton
Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·
19 Apr, 2023 09:54 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The notch at the top of the iPhone 14 Pro is gone and has been replaced by a pill shaped "dynamic island" that the screen wraps around. Video / Apple

A new feature on the Apple iPhone potentially saved lives in north Canterbury this morning, after a tractor collided with a ute on a rural stretch of road near Rangiora.

Emergency Services were called to the scene of the crash at around 9am, they were alerted to the incident after an Automatic Crash Detection notification was sent to police.

“The phones can tell if there’s been an impact and it came through as a notification,” said Simon Lyford, Fire and Emergency Shift Manager.

Emergency Services were called to the scene of the crash at around 9am. Photo / George Heard
Emergency Services were called to the scene of the crash at around 9am. Photo / George Heard

“It’s only on the Apple iPhones, people need to have it turned on but it will come through to police - a computer-generated voice will give a longitude and latitude of the crash and say it’s detected a crash.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The feature was introduced with the iPhone 14.

A score of emergency service vehicles was at the scene of the collision by 9.30am, photos taken show a crumpled grey vehicle and a trailer that has come dislodged.

Nearby, an upturned tractor lies blocking both lanes.

Police confirmed that three people had suffered varying degrees of injuries, the worst being one person who had been moderately injured by the crash.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are under way,” said local police.

Lyford confirmed to the Herald that three patients were being treated, their conditions are unknown at this stage. Photo / George Heard
Lyford confirmed to the Herald that three patients were being treated, their conditions are unknown at this stage. Photo / George Heard

According to a photographer at the scene, the rural section of Upper Sefton Rd was completely blocked to traffic, and fire crews had cutting equipment out.

Members of the public have stepped in to help with traffic control, turning away cars travelling towards the crash.

“It looked messy up there,” the photographer said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

Premium
The Country

'It was my calling': Inside the Taupō farm taming wild horses

20 Jun 10:00 PM
The Country

'Rusty but running': 1940s bulldozer still going strong

20 Jun 05:00 PM
The Country

One dead, three injured in Central Otago ATV accident

20 Jun 02:29 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Premium
'It was my calling': Inside the Taupō farm taming wild horses

'It was my calling': Inside the Taupō farm taming wild horses

20 Jun 10:00 PM

There are 93 horses still facing an uncertain fate.

'Rusty but running': 1940s bulldozer still going strong

'Rusty but running': 1940s bulldozer still going strong

20 Jun 05:00 PM
 One dead, three injured in Central Otago ATV accident

One dead, three injured in Central Otago ATV accident

20 Jun 02:29 AM
Tonnes of promise: Angus Bull Week set to make millions

Tonnes of promise: Angus Bull Week set to make millions

20 Jun 12:00 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP