Lost Earbud Leads To Arrest Of Florida Hit And Run Suspect

Credit: Martin County Sheriff’s Office 

JENSEN BEACH, Florida - A missing earbud led investigators to a Florida man suspected of being the driver in a hit-and-run crash that injured a teen a week ago in Jensen Beach, Florida.

Investigators with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office say that the 15-year-old bicyclist was wearing earbuds at the time of the collision, one of which flew into the driver’s SUV upon impact and lodged under a floor mat inside the vehicle.

It was that earbud that provided geo-tracking to the suspect’s Jensen Beach home.

When deputies went to the home, they noticed that someone had attempted to conceal the silver Santa Fe allegedly involved in the crash behind the house.

Upon further inspection, the passenger side of the vehicle had damage and a smashed-out back window, as deputies suspected it would.

Credit: Martin County Sheriff’s Office

Forty-nine-year-old Peter Bradford Swing was inside the home and allegedly told deputies that he expected them to show up at some point, and then provided a full confession about the crash.

Swing allegedly told investigators he had served prison time on drug charges in the past and fled the scene, leaving the injured teenager on the side of the road because he began to panic.

Swing was taken into custody and charged with leaving the scene of a crash with great bodily injury.

The teenager was treated for his injuries but is expected to recover.

"It’s an unusual way to locate a hit-and-run crash suspect, but it worked," the Martin County Sheriff’s Office stated on Facebook.