Life360 App Helps Rescue Teen Driver After Fiery Cow Collision on Remote Wyoming Road

A young driver who struck a cow on a pitch-dark Sheridan County road Friday night owes his rescue to a smartphone app. First responders located the totaled pickup and its injured occupant not through a 911 call, but via an alert from Life360, a location-sharing app designed to keep families connected.

The crash occurred along U.S. Highway 14-16 near the Sheridan County line. The driver, whose name has not been released, hit a black cow standing in the roadway. The impact destroyed his Ford Ranger, sending it off the road and into a field. The cow died at the scene.

Clearmont Fire District Chief Josh McKinley said his crew was dispatched at 6:42 p.m. with “very limited” information—just that a vehicle had crashed and airbags had deployed. The app’s emergency alert system had been triggered, notifying the driver’s parents and first responders.

“When I spoke with the driver’s mother, she said the app had notified her there was a possible crash, and when they tried contacting him, they couldn’t,” McKinley said.

Cell service along Upper Powder River Road is spotty. A traditional 911 call might have failed. But Life360’s GPS marker gave responders a starting point. They searched ditches and ravines near Arvada, then methodically drove Upper Powder River Road until they found the vehicle and the driver.

The driver was wearing his seatbelt. The airbags deployed. He walked away with minor injuries and was treated at the scene before being taken home.

“The vehicle was totaled, but it didn’t roll and stayed on all four wheels,” McKinley said.

Life360 markets itself as a way to “family-proof your family” with location tracking and collision detection. The app senses impacts over 25 mph and automatically alerts emergency contacts and dispatches first responders to the vehicle’s location.

McKinley said this was the first time his department had been called to a crash via the app. He’s a user himself.

“My wife travels a lot for work,” he said. “If she were to break down, I’d have an idea where she’s at. We’ve never had to use it in an accident, thank goodness, but it’s nice knowing where everyone is.”

Newer iPhones have similar crash-detection sensors, but in this case, a third-party app made the difference.

“The technology is there,” McKinley said. “There’s always room for improvement, but it got us there. We can’t complain too much.”