A woman sparked a police investigation after a car mechanic discovered human teeth in the radiator grill of her car.
According to officials the gruesome discovery was made when the woman brought her car in for a service in New Jersey, after hearing a 'rattling' sound coming from her car.
But rather than discovering a mechanical issue, an employee instead found teeth and hair in the grill and on the underside of the car while putting it up on a lift during the maintenance check.
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Linden Police sent the teeth, which were initially thought to belong to a deer, for forensic analysis, which confirmed that they actually belonged to a human.
Following further investigations police say they believe the teeth may be linked to a man who was found dead on the New Jersey Turnpike late last year.
The man, who has not been identified, was killed after being involved in a multiple car crash in the early hours of the morning on December 29. NBC News reports that he was struck by three vehicles while pushing a shopping trolley along the busy section of road.
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It's not clear whether the man was already dead when the woman hit him with her car, but she is not expected to be charged in connection with the incident, as police say they don't believe she was aware she had struck a person.
'She may have thought she ran over some kind of debris, but as it turned out it was some remains,' Linden Police Capt. Christopher Guenther said.
'She wasn't the initial striking vehicle, and for whatever reason, this stuff was underneath her car for around a month,' he added. 'For whatever reason, these body parts were not discovered during the initial investigation.'
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Linden Mayor Derek Armstead told NJ Advance Media that the woman, who has not been named, was likely to be shaken up by the discovery, saying 'I can’t even imagine [what she’s going through]. I get upset hitting a squirrel, a little creature, but a human being...'
Two of the drivers involved in the incident, which was reported to New Jersey State Police at 4.30am, were taken to hospital for 'moderate injuries,' NJ.com reported at the time.
The investigation into the discovery has now been turned over to the Essex County medical examiner.
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Topics: US News
Hannah Smith