Smart watch calls 911 after 2 hikers fall off cliff

MIDDLETOWN, N.J. — A New Jersey man says he and his hiking companion were rescued after they fell off a cliff because the impact spurred his smart watch to call 911.

James Prudenciano and Paige Paruso were hiking in Hartshorne Woods Park in Middletown last week when they got lost in the woods. They eventually fell onto a steep cliff as darkness set in.

Prudenciano had purchased the watch two days earlier and chose to activate the “fall detection” feature, which alerts the owner’s emergency contacts and calls 911 when it detects that its user has fallen.

Rescuers were eventually able to reach the couple, who were taken ashore by a boat. They were treated at a hospital for undisclosed injuries.