JENSEN BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — Investigators cracked the case of a hit-and-run in Florida that sent a teenage boy to the hospital, thanks to a very small piece of technology.
A picture showed 15-year-old Lochlan in a hospital bed soon after, authorities said, he was hit by a car and left on the road.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder says the teen was riding his bicycle home from a Cumberland Farms convenience store in Jensen Beach, Wednesday night.
Investigators said a silver SUV struck Lochlan so hard, his head went through the windshield.
Snyder said that when that happened, the victim’s AirPod fell into the vehicle, and deputies were able to “geotrack” it to a 49-year-old’s home.
“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,” said Snyder.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office Hit and Run Task Force then arrested a man who, they said, gave a full confession. He has been charged with leaving the scene of a crash with great bodily injury.
“My word to the community is this: if you have a crash, by law and by the moral law of the universe, you need to stay there.” said Snyder.
Lochlan’s mother, Lana Nichols, said the teen is resting at home and doing OK.
Snyder said he isn’t sure whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash, but the driver told deputies he took off because he served prison time for drug charges in the past and just panicked.
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