MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — A missing earbud allowed deputies to track down the driver who crashed into a 15-year-old and took off in Martin County.
At the time of the collision, the teen was wearing earbuds, and one of them flew into Peter Swing's SUV on the night of May 22 when he hit the bicyclist on North East Savannah Road, investigators with the Martin County Sheriff's Office said.
The earbud was lodged under a floor mat and provided geo tracking right to Swing, 49, who had the car parked at his Jensen Beach home, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff's office.
When investigators with the hit-and-run task force went to the home on Friday, they said they saw that someone tried to conceal the silver Sante Fe that was involved in the crash. The passenger side of the car had damage, and the back window was smashed as deputies suspected it would, the post said.
Swing, who was inside the home, told deputies he expected them to show up and confessed to the crash. He said he served previous prison time on drug charges and fled the scene because he panicked.
"It’s an unusual way to locate a hit-and-run crash suspect, but it worked," the post said.
He was taken into custody and is charged with leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury and leaving the scene without giving information with more than $50 in damages, according to county court records.
The teenager is being treated for his injuries but is expected to recover, according to deputies.
