Police In US Use Lost Earbud To Track Hit-And-Run Suspect: "Unusual Way But It Worked"

An earbud of a teenager helped the police track down a hit-and-run suspect who had fled from the scene after the accident. According to New York Post, the 15-year-old boy was riding his bicycle in Jensen Beach in Martin County, Florida, when he was hit by a car driven by Peter Bradford Swing. The police said that the accident took place on Wednesday at 10.30pm. Mr Swing is accused of fleeing the scene after hitting the teen and leaving him injured on the side of the road.

"When we have something as horrific as a human being being hit, a 15-year-old boy, then the driver is just driving off, that's reprehensible," the Post quoted Sheriff William Snyder as saying.

The teen's mother told WKYT that her son suffered multiple broken bones and a head injury during the hit-and-run.

The boy was taken to a hospital, but released after brief medical assistance. The police said that he is expected to make full recovery.

Despite being injured, the teen helped the police in catching the suspect. He told the police that one of his earbuds flew out of his ear and landed under a floor mat inside Swing's SUV.

"It was that earbud that provided geo tracking right to the suspect's Jensen Beach home," the Martin County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.

The police identified the vehicle - a Hyundai Santa Fe - and reached the house of Mr Swing, who had tried to conceal it.

"The passenger side of the vehicle had damage and a smashed out back window as deputies suspected it would," said the police.

The police found the earbud wedged under a floor mat of the vehicle. "It's an unusual way to locate a hit and run crash suspect, but it worked," the department further said in the post.