Teenage Biker Crashes, Uses Siri to Save Himself

After crashing his motorbike on May 17th, Australian native Darcy McKay managed to get Siri to call the paramedics - a clever move that might have just saved his life.

The 17-year old, who lives in Pambula Beach, had wanted to take the scenic route home after work to “have some fun on the bush tracks.” As he had ridden that particular route many times before, he tackled a corner with too much hubris, leading to his downfall (literally).

(All images taken from Merimbula News)

“I came around a corner way too quick, the front wheel went into a pothole and I went straight over the handlebars,” the boy said in an interview with Merimbula News.

“I felt pain straight away in my lower back, I just freaked out because I knew that I had done something to my back - but I could move my toes which was a relief.”

Not only did the accident happen in a more isolated area, McKay’s crash left him with multiple fractures to his vertebrae, a fractured tailbone, broken pelvis bone and bleeding in his pancreas.

Unable to physically reach for his phone to call for help, McKay instead decide to activate the voice-controlled mobile assistant in his iPhone by saying, “hey Siri, call triple-zero (the Australian emergency hotline), on speaker.”

“I couldn’t move my legs, I had no muscle movement at all and was freaking out so I used Siri to call triple-zero straight away.” The teenager then managed to give directions to the phone operator hands-free, and within 20 minutes emergency services had arrived.

McKay was transported to the South East Regional Hospital where he would consequently have to spend six weeks in recovery and a further four to six weeks to regain his strength.

“I am so thankful I knew how to use Siri properly,” he later said. “And, I am so happy I thought of using it otherwise I would have been stuffed.”

McKay has ridden on motorbikes since the tender age of 10, and although the accident had severe repercussions, he has said that he will still continue to ride in the future - but with the proper protective gear.

“I won’t be getting on my bike again unless I am wearing full protective gear, I won’t ride in the bush unless I am wearing armour and motocross boots,” he stated.

He is also extremely grateful for his knowledge on how to use Siri, and the fact that he has never left the house without his phone, which he describes as “the best tool to have” in an emergency situation.

“If I did not have my phone on me I would have been stuck in that bush in a lot of pain and it would have been absolute hell.”

Lesson learnt: always wear protective gear before you ride and make sure you know how to activate Siri in case of emergency situations.