Police were automatically called to the scene of a "devastating" car crash by one of the victim's iPhones.
The car struck a tree with five of the occupants dying at the scene. A 24-year-old woman was rushed to hospital with grave injuries but sadly later died.
Local police in the Nebraskan city of Lincoln said: "This is the worst crash in Lincoln in recent memory. Our hearts are heavy for the victim's families."
Emergency services were first alerted to the horrific accident by a 911 call made automatically by one of the occupant's iPhones.
Crash Detection is a feature on the iPhone 14 that can detect when the user has been in a crash.
Investigators are still trying to establish what happened in the car but it's believed the black Honda Accord had been driving eastbound before it crossed the road and struck a tree.
Apart from the woman who later died in hospital, all other five occupants of the car were men. The driver was 26 years old. One passenger was 21, one was 23 and two victims were 22 years old.
The crash happened on October 2 at about 2.16am by the intersection of S 56th and Randolph Streets.
Police are still urgently appealing for anyone who may have seen the crash. A spokesperson said: "While the investigation is still in the very early stages, we ask those with information, including video evidence, to call our non-emergency number at 402-441-6000 or Crime Stoppers at 402-475-3600."
According to Apple: "If your iPhone or Apple Watch detects a severe car crash and contacts emergency services, it will include your device location as latitude and longitude coordinates. The call will share your location regardless of whether you have enabled Location Services."
The phone uses a number of ways to detect a crash such as by monitoring for particular loud sound levels, characteristic of crashes.
One of the people who died in the crash has been identified as 22-year-old Jonathan Koch. His sister Kayla Kelley paid tribute to Jonathan in a heartbreaking interview.
She told local news station WOWT: "He was the most caring and trusting person ever."
“He also knew no strangers, anyone that knew Jonny knew Johnny very well,” says his other sister, Caleigh Keown. “I think he would want everyone to remember how much he cared about them, cause he was such a caring guy.”
