My husband’s smart watch told me that me that he died

1 hour ago 5

Paula & Ben Overton. // A wife discovered her husband had been involved in a fatal crash - with a phone app alert while she was in the bath. Paula Overton went into panic mode after she received an automated text message from her husband?s Garmin watch telling her he had been involved in an accident. She received the coordinates and then used a tracking app that showed hubby Ben Overton was not moving - but lying in the middle of the road. The 29-year-old had been cycling home from work when he was killed in a head on smash with a car on a small country road in Crawley, Sussex. After getting the alert, Paula said she instantly feared the worst and called 999 - and an hour later police turned up at her door to tell her Ben had died. With no CCTV and no witnesses, the Crown Prosecution Service told Ben?s family that there was not enough evidence to prosecute the driver that hit him. Photo released 11/06/2026

The couple had been together since they were teenagers (Picture: Fletchers Solictors / SWNS)

Four years ago, Paula and Ben Overton were enjoying married life and saving towards buying their first home when a devastating message appeared on Paula’s phone.

‘It was just normal day. Ben gave me a kiss on the forehead and went off to work. He messaged me during the day to let me know that he’d booked some annual leave around my birthday, so that we could go to Cyprus,’ Paula remembers.

The pair first met in college in Horsham in 2010 at ages 16 and 17 after being set up by a mutual friend, staying together when Paula went 150 miles away to university in Loughborough.

They then travelled Europe and Japan together in January 2019 before tying the knot in the November ages 25 and 26, honeymooning in the Canary Islands the following month.

The pair did ‘everything together’, from weekly walks to regular date nights, sharing a love of trying out new restaurants, with tech-enthusiast Ben even building Paula’s computer.

But all that changed on February 9 2022, when Ben, who was 29 at the time, began cycling home from his job as a store manager.

He was killed in a head-on smash with a car on a small country road in Crawley, Sussex.

Paula, now 32, went into panic mode after she received an automated text message from her husband’s Garmin watch, telling her he had been involved in an accident.

‘I would finish work and get home before him, so I went for a bath. I was laid in the bath, when my phone went. It was this automated message that said, “Benjamin Overton’s Garmin device has detected an incident”. Then it gave me the coordinates.’

Paula & Ben Overton as teenagers at a prom. // A wife discovered her husband had been involved in a fatal crash - with a phone app alert while she was in the bath. Paula Overton went into panic mode after she received an automated text message from her husband?s Garmin watch telling her he had been involved in an accident. She received the coordinates and then used a tracking app that showed hubby Ben Overton was not moving - but lying in the middle of the road. The 29-year-old had been cycling home from work when he was killed in a head on smash with a car on a small country road in Crawley, Sussex. After getting the alert, Paula said she instantly feared the worst and called 999 - and an hour later police turned up at her door to tell her Ben had died. With no CCTV and no witnesses, the Crown Prosecution Service told Ben?s family that there was not enough evidence to prosecute the driver that hit him. Photo released 11/06/2026

The pair at prom together (Picture: Fletchers Solictors / SWNS)

‘I thought it was a really weird message to receive so I decided to check a tracking app we had for each other called Life 360.

‘Normally it showed a map, and it had a little pinpoint where Ben was. I expected that pinpoint to be moving along, but it was just stationary in the middle of the road.

Every possible scenario started running through my mind

‘I thought his phone could have fallen out his pocket or he could have been in an accident.

‘I got out of the bath, wrote down the coordinates and I called 999, I was just so scared.’

She then called her father to come over, and he was with her when the police arrived.

‘I had no idea what to think. I was just pacing around the flat waiting to hear and then they called back 10 minutes later and said “we can confirm that there has been an accident”. I asked “is he alive?” And they said “we don’t have that information at the moment.”

‘About an hour later a policeman turned up at my door, and I just knew it wasn’t good news. I said “he’s dead, isn’t he?” And he just gave me a hug.’

Paula & Ben Overton pictured on their wedding day. // A wife discovered her husband had been involved in a fatal crash - with a phone app alert while she was in the bath. Paula Overton went into panic mode after she received an automated text message from her husband???s Garmin watch telling her he had been involved in an accident. She received the coordinates and then used a tracking app that showed hubby Ben Overton was not moving - but lying in the middle of the road. The 29-year-old had been cycling home from work when he was killed in a head on smash with a car on a small country road in Crawley, Sussex. After getting the alert, Paula said she instantly feared the worst and called 999 - and an hour later police turned up at her door to tell her Ben had died. With no CCTV and no witnesses, the Crown Prosecution Service told Ben???s family that there was not enough evidence to prosecute the driver that hit him. Photo released 11/06/2026

They got married in 2019 after almost a decade together (Picture: Fletchers Solictors / SWNS)

The police stayed for a couple of hours to ask her some questions about Ben and give her some support leaflets. His body was then released a week later.

Paula took a month off work and was supported by her family.

However, the investigation into Ben’s death soon stalled.

In the months that followed, Paula said she and Ben’s parents received no updates from the police, who wouldn’t reveal any details of their probe to avoid jeopardising it.

Paula added: ‘It just felt really painful, the loss of Ben. You have no idea what’s going on, you’re just in shock. Every time I spoke to the police I felt like I was living in this constant cycle of remembering how he died and not all the happy memories we had before that.

‘When they decided that there was not enough evidence to prosecute, I felt like I was never going to get justice for him. When the person you love is killed you expect that someone is going to be held responsible.’

The driver claimed Ben was on the wrong side of the road and with a lack of evidence or witnesses, police could not prove otherwise.

Ben’s inquest took place in February this year – four years after his death.

After the inquest, Paula pursued a civil case against the driver’s insurers and partial liability was agreed.

‘Hearing that they had admitted partial liability allowed me to move on in some ways. I think I had the closure that I needed because in my heart, I had gathered what had happened.

Ben Overton who was cycling home from work at the time of the fatal crash. // A wife discovered her husband had been involved in a fatal crash - with a phone app alert while she was in the bath. Paula Overton went into panic mode after she received an automated text message from her husband?s Garmin watch telling her he had been involved in an accident. She received the coordinates and then used a tracking app that showed hubby Ben Overton was not moving - but lying in the middle of the road. The 29-year-old had been cycling home from work when he was killed in a head on smash with a car on a small country road in Crawley, Sussex. After getting the alert, Paula said she instantly feared the worst and called 999 - and an hour later police turned up at her door to tell her Ben had died. With no CCTV and no witnesses, the Crown Prosecution Service told Ben?s family that there was not enough evidence to prosecute the driver that hit him. Photo released 11/06/2026

Ben loved nature and the outdoors (Picture: Fletchers Solictors / SWNS)

‘There was a moment at the inquest when I just started crying because the GPS evidence was so convincing that Ben was on the correct side of the road. I felt like it was really harsh decision to not prosecute the driver based on that evidence that I saw.

‘I know who was at fault, and I really strongly believe it was the driver.’

Their first house should have been their next milestone as a couple, but instead Paula bought a flat alone after Ben’s death.

The high-school sweethearts also had plans to foster children.

The 32-year-old has since started Tai Chi and also volunteers with her local Beaver Scouts to help children learn to love the outdoors in the same way Ben did, keeping his memory alive for her.

She spends every birthday, Christmas and Valentines with family so she’s not alone on the milestones that the pair spent together.

Paula now keeps a wooden chest with all his favourite belongings such as CDs, DVDs, clothes, travel souvenirs and his flute.

Victoria Martin, from Fletchers Solicitors, said: ‘The last four years have been unimaginably painful for Paula, who has been constantly searching for answers about exactly what happened to Ben. We hope that our case has provided some of those answers and given her some sense of justice for Ben.’