AN act of kindness took a dramatic turn as a teenager ran off with a mobile phone after crashing his car.
Officers were called to Clingoe Hill, Colchester, after reports a car had crashed into a tree.
An onlooker ran to the 19-year-old driver’s assistance, offering for him to borrow their mobile phone.
The driver then fled the scene with the borrowed phone, but he failed to outsmart police officers who tracked him down using the phone’s technology.
After finding him using a built-in location tracking app, officers arrested the man on suspicion of theft and drink driving.
For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
An Essex Police spokesperson said: “Recently officers from the Stanway roads policing unit and Colchester local policing team attended a road traffic collision whereby its alleged a 19-year-old male crashed a vehicle in Clingoe Hill, Colchester, veering off the carriageway and down a grass verge, through a public footpath and then into a tree.
“Members of the public came out to assist the injured male who asked to borrow a mobile phone before running off with the phone and leaving the scene.
“Officers used ‘Find my iPhone’ to track the stolen phone to the registered address of the crashed vehicle.
“A male was located by officers and arrested on suspicion of theft and drink driving.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article