Hit-and-run suspect captured by police after making mistake with missing AirPod
Topics: US News, Crime, Technology, Apple
Joe Harker
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Inside Edition
Topics: US News, Crime, Technology, Apple
A suspect in a hit-and-run was caught by police after an AirPod belonging to the victim got tracked to their address.
Earlier this year, a 15-year-old Florida teen was out riding his bike when he was struck by a vehicle.
Lachlan Nichol had been on his bike in Jensen Beach when the car struck him, sending the teen tumbling into the passenger window and severely injuring him.
The driver then sped off from the scene before Lachlan could spot the car's license plate, resulting in a hit-and-run which would have been tough to track down.
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However, the 15-year-old later realised that one of his AirPods was missing and not at the scene, leading police to figure out where the suspect had gone.
Lachlan had suffered a broken nose, cheekbone and eye socket in the crash, but the loss of one of his AirPods helped point police in the right direction.
It turned out that one of the little earphones had gone into the suspect's car, and when the 15-year-old went back to the scene of the hit-and-run to retrieve his AirPods only one was discovered.
Thanks to tracking technology police were able to find an address where they discovered a damaged vehicle, with Lachlan's AirPod wedged beneath a mat in the floor of the car.
Police spoke to the property's owner, 49-year-old Peter Swing, and charged him with leaving the scene of a crash and causing great bodily injury.
As per NBC Miami, Swing told officers he had been involved in the crash and drove away because he panicked due to previously spending time in prison on drug charges.
The 49-year-old ended up being arrested, with Martin County Sheriff William Snyder saying in a statement at the time: "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."
After recovering in hospital and returning home, Lachlan and his family said 'thanks Apple' in an appearance on Inside Edition.
It's not the only time modern technology has played a part in car crashes.
Eagle-eyed folks on the internet who were trawling through Google Street View appeared to spot the moment when a man on a motorbike appears to be struck by the Street View car itself, leaving people to wonder how it ended up being uploaded onto the platform for all to see.