16-05-2025
How a son's phone alerted his mother to his death, decades after his sister died the same way
A heartbroken mother has revealed how an automated text message alerted her to the car crash that claimed the life of her son, decades after her daughter died in a similar incident.
Marc Rowan, 37, died in a car crash on Fallon Street in North Albury, NSW, on the evening of May 3.
Moments after his car flipped, an app on his mobile phone automatically notified his mother Jacquelyne Rowan that he had likely been involved in a crash.
'Car crash detected SOS,' the text, which Ms Rowan revealed to 7News read, alongside a pinpoint location of the incident.
'I called emergency services from this approximate location after iPhone detected a crash. You are receiving this message because I have listed you as an emergency contact.'
After receiving the text, Ms Rowan said she tried to call her son to no avail.
It was a familiar loss for Ms Rowan who, in 1993, lost her daughter Jessica in a car accident.
'I feel like I'm just a shell of myself but I've got to keep going,' she said.
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.
The family has launched a fundraiser that Ms Rowan hoped would give her son 'the send-off he deserves' and would help bury him alongside his sister.
'It's with heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the passing of our beloved Marc, a truly wonderful man with a heart of gold,' the GoFundMe page said.
'Marc was tragically taken from us in a car accident, leaving behind a wave of shock, sadness, and grief among everyone who knew him.'
The family described the 37-year-old as a 'rare soul' whose 'kindness, generosity and unwavering loyalty touched so many lives'.
'Any contribution, big or small, will help ease the burden on his loved ones during this incredibly difficult time and allow them to say goodbye in a way that reflects the love and light Marc brought into the world,' the GoFundMe page read.
'Thank you for your support, your kind words, and for keeping Marc's memory alive.'
Since being launched earlier this month, the fundraiser has attracted $2,785 towards a target of $15,500.
Tributes from friends and loved ones have poured in on social media, describing Mr Rowan as a 'wonderful person' and a 'beautiful soul'.
'Our son, whose passing inspires us to cherish every moment, find strength in our memories of him, and strive for resilience,' Ms Rowan wrote on Facebook.
'We yearn for one more day with him.'
