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Siri helps save teen after truck falls on him

Posted at 8:45 AM, Aug 17, 2015
and last updated 2015-08-17 08:45:12-04

Murfreesboro, Tn. – (WKRN-TV) – A Tennessee teenager is now a big fan of Siri after Apple’s voice interface helped save his life.

18-year-old Sam Ray was pinned under his truck and Siri was his only way to call for help.

Sam was working under his truck, which was lifted up on a jack in the driveway of his family’s home. He had called his father for advice, then put his phone in his pocket.

As he tried to slide out from underneath the vehicle, the nearly 5,000 pound truck fell on top of him, trapping Sam underneath.

“This arm was above my head, tangled up, and I don’t know exactly what, but I know it was on the exhaust because I was burned from here up,” he says.

Sam yelled for help but he was home alone.

“It was kind of the realization that, “What in the world just happened, and oh my gosh, this could be the end,” he says.

That’s when he heard the sound of Siri.

“Thereafter, I realized that, wow, this is actually kind of a useful thing,” he says.

Ray pushed up on his hip to activate Siri in his pocket and requested she call 911.

After several tries, he heard dispatcher Christina Lee’s voice on the line.

“The greatest thing he did was keep saying his address so we could get everybody there,” she says.

Emergency responders took Ray to the Vanderbilt Life Flight Base in Murfreesboro.

“He had broken the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth ribs, which are lower ribs, and then he probably crushed his kidney, and so his kidney was torn and bruised,” says Dr. Richard Miller.

A month after the traumatic experience, Sam continues to recover.

He gives thanks to the responders and dispatcher who acted quickly, the power of prayer, and Siri.