A missing AirPod played a pivotal role in helping authorities in Florida apprehend a hit-and-run suspect who struck a teenager on a bicycle, according to the Martin County Sheriff's Office in Florida.
On May 29, 15-year-old Lachlan Nichol was cycling in Jensen Beach when an SUV collided with him. The impact propelled Nichol into the passenger window, causing one of his AirPods to dislodge and become lodged under a floor mat inside the vehicle.
Law enforcement officials traced the errant earbud to a specific address. There, they discovered an individual had attempted to conceal a silver Santa Fe SUV, the vehicle involved in the incident, behind a residence.
The vehicle's owner, 49-year-old Peter Swing, confessed to deputies that he was the driver responsible for the collision. He admitted to fleeing the scene due to panic, citing a prior prison sentence for drug charges as the impetus for his actions.
Swing was promptly arrested and taken into custody at the county jail. "I think the family will undoubtedly feel some measure of justice, but we can't undo what happened and I think the real sting here is that he left an unconscious child in a dark parking lot and drove away," remarked Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
Family members have stated that Nichols has since been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home.
Sheriff Snyder acknowledged that the collision was an accident, asserting that had Swing remained at the scene, he would have merely received a citation. However, Swing now faces charges of leaving the scene of a crash causing great bodily injury, a second-degree felony offense.
