Police chiefs have committed to address how automatic mobile phone calls alerting emergency services to serious crashes are handled following the death of a teenager.

George Dillon, 19, died from injuries in a crash in a country road near Romsey – with his iPhone detecting the crash and making a 999 call.

An inquest into his death heard he was driving a Volkswagen Golf in Lee Lane shortly after 10.15pm on May 18 2023 when he lost control and hit a tree.

He was taken to Southampton General Hospital where he died two days later.

Assistant coroner Henry Charles issued two preventing future death reports on how emergency services dealt with an automatic call from Mr Dillon’s iPhone and the condition of the road, with authorities responding in recent weeks.

Apple introduced technology where iPhone users can set their device to make an emergency call automatically when it detects a serious crash has taken place in 2022.

Mr Dillon’s phone sent an automated call to Hampshire Constabulary’s control room at 10.26pm to indicate there had been a crash and he was not responding to his phone.

The inquest heard the call operator logged ‘no direct request’ made, with nothing distinctive heard in the background.

A call back from the control room went straight to voicemail. Enquiries by the force’s intelligence team drew a blank at 10.43pm.

If there had not been a call from a member of the public two minutes later, further steps could have taken place to make contact, a police vehicle may have been sent to the coordinates provided by Mr Dillon’s iPhone, or there might have been no further action, the coroner said.

The investigating officer told the inquest in Winchester “not enough is known (by the police) about this technology within people’s personal phones”.

The coroner said: “I am concerned that the understanding, training and procedures need review to assist with appropriately prompt response in situations where there is an indication of a collision where a risk to life may exist.”

In a written response to the coroner’s report, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s solicitor said at the time of the incident there was no national guidance on how forces should respond to crash notifications.

After the inquest, police accepted the need to put clear guidance in place and immediate action was taken by the head of contact management.

A video message was sent to all staff on the expected course of action when receiving a crash notification.

This was followed up with written guidance outlining an expectation that operators deploy crews to all crash technology notifications if they are not able to get a human response or other information to support it being a false notification.

The force is also introducing a toolkit for handling abandoned and automatic notification calls.

The solicitor’s letter said: “Changes have been made in part, because, as recognised at the inquest, the technology has advanced to the extent that the constabulary’s previous approach left room for error, notwithstanding the development of these technologies has taken place with little or no interaction between private companies providing these notifications and UK policing.”

The coroner also wrote to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

In response, NPCC lead for contact management and Hertfordshire Constabulary assistant chief constable Catherine Akehurst said she was directing a task and finish group to work in “fast time” to create an agreed national position on automated calls.

She added that a current review of the memorandum of understanding in relation to SOS alerts from mobile networks will ensure the policy is “fit for purpose”.
Highways authority Hampshire County Council was written to in relation to the condition of the road.

Mr Dillon lost control of his car on a crest in Lee Lane at its junction with Spaniard’s Lane.

The coroner said he was concerned the hazard posed by the crest, even when travelling within the 60mph speed limit, was not readily apparent to drivers and there was an absence of warning signs.

The council said the coroner’s report had prompted another review of the collision by the casualty reduction programme team.

This work concluded that crossroad warning signs, reduce speed now signs, and SLOW road markings should be added in Lee Lane on both approaches to the Spaniard’s Lane crossroads.