A Middletown man is crediting his Apple Watch for saving his life.

James Prudenciano, 28, and his date, Paige Paruso, were hiking in Hartshorne Woods Park last week when they got lost in the woods. They fell over some thorns onto a steep cliff.

Once it began to get dark, they decided they were going to slide down the cliff hoping they would land on solid ground. They then realized there was nothing below them but rocks along the Navesink River.

"We got to the bottom and that's when it was life or death," Prudenciano says. "I looked down and I noticed it was a straight drop to rocks and water."

Prudenciano says they hung on for their lives and he didn't think he would survive. He says Paruso dropped into the river and yelled to let him know she was hurt, but OK.

Prudenciano's Apple Watch then detected a "hard fall" and called 911.

"I was screaming that I'm going to die because I really felt I was going to die," he said. "There was no way out of this for me. I literally said my last goodbyes."

Prudenciano's mother says she received three text messages letting her know there was an emergency.

Eventually Prudenciano fell into the river and landed on a rock. He suffered three fractures in his back, scratches and thorns that are still lodged in his foot.

Middletown police say during the rescue response, the two victims were placed on a passing boat and taken to a pier. They were transported to Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment of their injuries.