Peter Swing, left, was arrested in Jensen Beach, Florida, after the earbud of a teen he hit was found inside his SUV, deputies say. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
A 49-year-old Florida man who allegedly hit a teenage bicyclist with his car and fled the scene is behind bars — allegedly thanks to a missing earbud.
The 15-year-old boy was riding his bicycle the night of May 22 in the area of Northeast Savannah Road in Jenson Beach when he was hit by an SUV, the Martin County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release. Deputies say the driver took off, leaving the boy injured on the ground. The boy was wearing earbuds at the time of the crash, one of which was missing.
Investigators on Friday tracked the earbud to a home in Jensen Beach. When deputies arrived at the home, 49-year-old Peter Bradford Swing came out and reportedly said he was expecting them to come at some point. They found an SUV, a Hyundai Santa Fe, behind the home with damage to the passenger side and with a shattered back window, deputies wrote.
The damage was consistent with the crash. Inside the SUV, detectives found the missing earbud under a floor mat, the affidavit said. It had apparently flown off the boy’s ear and into Swing’s SUV after impact, according to cops.
Swing allegedly confessed to the crash and said he left the scene in a panic because he previously had served prison time on drug charges. Deputies took Swing into custody for allegedly leaving the scene of a crash with great bodily harm.
The boy is still recovering from his injuries, but is expected to survive.
“It’s an unusual way to locate a hit and run crash suspect, but it worked,” deputies wrote.
Swing has since bonded out of the Martin County Jail.
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