A California mountain biker said his Apple Watch saved his life after a crash left him paralyzed: 'My brain kind of kicked into survival mode'

• Ryan McConnaughe, 23, was riding his mountain bike on a San Diego trail when he crashed, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
• McConaughey, unable to reach for his phone, called for help with his Apple Watch's voice feature.

A California man said his Apple Watch saved his life after a mountain biking accident left him paralyzed.

"That watch saved my life. No doubt about it. No way anybody would have found me. I never would have thought I'd be using an Apple Watch to make a life-saving phone call," Ryan McConnaughe, 23, told ABC San Diego.

McConnaughey, was 40 minutes into his ride on April 21 in San Diego County when he lost control and went forward, over his handlebars, headfirst into the ground, leaving him paralyzed, according to the local news outlet.

"I instantly couldn't move anything from my neck down," McConnaughey told People. "And I was by myself, literally in the middle of nowhere, so if I were to yell or anything, nobody would find me."

According to ABC San Diego, McConnaughey knew he needed to get help immediately, but his phone was in his bag where he couldn't reach it.

"I knew for sure that I need to get medical attention as quickly as possible. My brain kind of kicked into survival mode," McConnaughey told the outlet.

In an instant, McConnaughey used his Apple Watch to call his friend Peter, the only person who knew his location and who had been riding with him earlier that day.

After Peter located McConnaughey, the two called 911 for emergency services.

Before emergency services arrived, McConaughey left a voice mail for his girlfriend Lauren, which went viral on TikTok with millions of views.

"Lauren I'm so sorry babe," McConaughey said in the voicemail. "I fell mountain biking, and I'm by myself, and I'm paralyzed from the neck down… I'm calling you from my Apple Watch because I can't move."

"I'm so sorry, babe. I just love you more than anything," McConaughey added in the voicemail.

McConnaughey was located and airlifted to a hospital where he needed several life-saving surgeries to stabilize his shattered vertebrae and relieve pressure on his spine, according to ABC San Diego.

In the following months, McConnaughey went to physical therapy in a facility in Colorado with Lauren and family by his side, according to the outlet.

Lauren created a fundraiser to help McConnaughey with his recovery, which collected more than $40,000 as of Sunday.

"Many of those donations came from people I've never even met before," McConnaughey told People. " I've just never seen this side of people before, so it's nice to be able to get this support from people I don't even know."