MADISON, Ala. (WAFF) – A Madison family says a safety feature in the Life360 app helped their loved ones react quickly after a crash on an interstate in Tennessee.

The Claytons were traveling back to Madison, Alabama, after a visit to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery, when they saw another vehicle suddenly cut them off and T-bone their car.

Gerald Clayton’s daughter, Tiffany, was in Atlanta when she says her phone sounded an alert she’d never heard before.

“My phone does this crazy notification I’ve never heard, and I look down, and it says something like detected that Gerald might have been in a collision.”

Tiffany said Life360 noted the event could have been something minor like a dropped phone but flagged a sudden movement consistent with a collision.

Gerald Clayton said he was riding in the back seat. His sister was driving, and his brother-in-law was in the front passenger seat.

“Basically, cut us off and I’m looking at this saying to myself, this is not going to end well.”

He said he braced for impact.

“So I just slipped my left hand between my seatbelt and my chest because I knew that the impact was going to be really severe.”

Clayton says the crash fractured his sternum.

“It’s like somebody hitting you in the stomach and knocking the air out of you.”

Tiffany said when her father didn’t answer, she began making calls including to her mother in Huntsville to figure out what was happening.

Life360’s crash detection also prompted an in-app check-in.

“The app basically shows me in motion at 60 miles an hour. And then all of a sudden, it shows me at zero. So then I get this instant message from the app, you know, are you okay? Do you need to call the paramedics or anything like that?”

Life360 includes a free option for location tracking and crash detection. Tiffany said the incident showed her the benefit of having those tools while family members are on the road.

“This is something I think can provide that extra layer of safety and visibility on people that you care about.”

Clayton agreed.

“Without a doubt. I mean, I can see the benefits of it, especially when you’re traveling.”

Wear your seatbelt. If you’re traveling, make sure someone knows your route and consider enabling safety features on your phone or apps you already use.

Clayton remained in the hospital for four days recovering while his sister and brother-in-law were released within hours of the wreck. He credits wearing his seatbelt for the outcome.

Click Here to Subscribe on YouTube: Watch the latest WAFF 48 news, sports & weather videos on our YouTube channel!

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The New World Screwworm, a flesh-eating fly that lays eggs in animal orifices, has been detected in Texas, prompting new temporary regulations in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture said Friday that it has issued new temporary animal import requirements after the screwworm was found in Texas.

The USDA announced the first U.S. case of the New World Screwworm on Wednesday, saying it was confirmed in a 3-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas. The larvae was found in the bovine’s umbilical area, the USDA said, calling it “a devastating pest.”

“It can cause serious, often deadly damage to animals and people in areas where the pest spreads,” the USDA says. “While NWS is present in parts of South America — where infections in animals and people continue to occur — it was eradicated from the United States decades ago. In recent years, NWS has moved northward through Central America and Mexico and was confirmed in Texas on June 3, 2026.”

There have not been any other cases of the New World Screwworm in the U.S.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture said there is no indication of an outbreak in the state, but that officials wanted to issue temporary animal import requirements to help educate and prevent one from occurring.

As part of the order, the interstate movement of certain animals coming into Tennessee has been restricted. The order applies to animals imported from “infested zones, infested states, and high-risk counties.”

Animals imported from outside an infested zone, but within an infested state or high-risk county, will be required to obtain a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection declaring they do not have signs of the flesh-eating fly.

“The CVI must include the statement, ‘All animals listed on the CVI have been inspected and are free from screwworm larvae infestation,’” the state said. “The CVI shall be valid for no more than 7 days from the date of inspection.”

Animals imported from an infested zone will need a CVI saying they were given effective treatment for the screwworm. Documents must also provide information about the treatment that was given, entry permit numbers, signatures from authorized representatives, and more.

The full list of requirements and exemptions can be found HERE.

What is the New World Screwworm?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the New World Scerwworm is a parasitic fly that eats “the tissue or flesh of warm-blooded animals and people.”

“NWS flies are attracted to wounds and body openings like the nose, eyes, ears, and mouth, where they lay eggs,” the CDC says. “The eggs hatch into maggots (larvae) that eat live tissue, causing a worsening, often painful and foul-smelling wound.”

They eat that tissue, the CDC says, by using “sharp mouth hooks,” adding that the wound will become “larger and deeper as more larvae hatch and feed on living tissue.”

While the fly has typically been found in South America and the Caribbean, the CDC says it has been steadily moving more north since 2023.

“NWS infestations (presence of maggots on or in the body) do not regularly occur in the United States, but cases have occurred in travelers returning from areas where flies are present,” the CDC says. “If you travel to these areas, have an open wound and spend a lot of time outdoors, you may be at greater risk of becoming infested with NWS.”

A majority of Knox County school board came together to ask state legislators to reform the Age-Appropriate Materials Act that led to the ban of “Roots” last month.

The board voted June 4 to move forward on a resolution brought by Anne Templeton that urges legislators to:

• Allow books to be considered as a whole instead of a single passage. Right now, if a section of a book has depictions of sexual conduct or excessive violence, it must be banned.
• Extend the materials review period to 90 days before a statewide commission acts.
• Distinguish between grade levels so a book can be removed from elementary schools and allowed in high schools, for example.

Board members Katherine Bike, the Rev. John Butler, Chair Kristi Kristy, Patricia Fontenot-Ridley and Anne Templeton voted in favor. Members Betsy Henderson, Lauren Morgan, Stephen Triplett and Vice Chair Travis Wright voted against the resolution.

Triplett and Henderson said they agreed with parts of the resolution, but were fearful this action could disarm the Age-Appropriate Materials Act.

“I don’t want to send a message to the General Assembly that I want the Age-Appropriate Materials Act watered down at all. That is my only fear in sending anything to them, is that they get the idea from our board that we want it watered down,” Triplett explained. “I would be content with these changes, but I’d also be content if nothing changed.”

Henderson urged the board to instead take the issue up in the fall ahead of the General Assembly’s 2027 session. Templeton said she preferred to act now because book banning is a relevant topic in Knox County.