Car Crash Victim Calls for Help Using AirTouch Service; Fire Department & Paramedics Arrive Within Minutes.

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 1999--On Christmas Eve, as many Southern Californians were already celebrating with loved ones, Courtland Zamacona of Diamond Bar, Calif., was driving to meet his family for the holidays.

Traveling on Highway 95, only a few miles from his grandmother's house in Lake Havasu, Courtland's Chevy S-10 Blazer had a tire blow out, causing him to lose control and roll the vehicle.

Courtland was knocked unconscious and Needles, the family's golden retriever, was thrown from the vehicle. The 18-year-old boy awoke moments later and crawled out of the flaming vehicle, the dog nowhere to be found. Remembering his cellular phone was connected to the cigarette adapter inside the truck, he reached through the car window and pulled on the partially melted cord and retrieved the phone.

Courtland quickly called his grandmother's house, informing his parents of the accident and approximate location. Courtland's parents, Debbie and Armando Zamacona raced out of the house to find their son, while Courtland remained on the line with his grandmother, attempting to describe his location so she could notify 9-1-1.

Only ten miles from the wreck, Debbie and Armando could see the flames in the distance and knew immediately where Courtland was. Using their AirTouch phone, they called 9-1-1 to verify the location and confirm that help was on its way. Responding to the emergency calls, the Arizona Highway Patrol, local area fire departments, and an ambulance arrived within minutes.

The fire was extinguished by Lake Havasu and Buckskin firefighters, and Courtland was treated at Lake Havasu Regional Hospital for a light concussion, minor scrapes and bruises. The dog, which was lost in the desert for four days, was found unharmed and returned to the family.

"My husband and I were worried about Courtland driving to his grandmother's house by himself," said Debbie. "We liked the idea of calling mobile to mobile to stay in touch along the drive and were considering buying an additional phone for him to use. We heard about AirTouch's $19 service plan, decided better safe than sorry, and as a precaution, purchased the phone and service only a couple of days before the trip."

"Our family regularly travels through the desert to my mother's in Lake Havasu," said Debbie. "We've used other wireless carriers on the drive before, but they didn't provide the service we needed. AirTouch has continually provided us with exceptional service through the desert. Their service was there when we needed it most!"

AirTouch Cellular in Southern California provides wireless telecommunications and paging service to Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. While AirTouch wireless service is the best it has ever been, customers should still take into consideration that weather, terrain, customer equipment, volume of calls, possible gaps in signal and other factors may affect reception and service across the state.

AirTouch Communications is the largest wireless company in the world based on the total number of customers served by its ventures. AirTouch owns interests in cellular, paging, and personal communications services in the United States and 12 other nations as well as an interest in the Globalstar satellite system. AirTouch ventures serve over 35 million total customers worldwide (over 16 million based on its ownership share of its global ventures).