LAKELAND, Fla. — Police arrest a man in connection to a hit-and-run crash that killed a 67-year-old woman in November.
The Lakeland Police Department (LPD) said that they arrested Daniel Kovacs at his home Thursday.
LPD said that at 12:02 a.m. on Nov. 23, a woman, who was identified as Robin Brown, was trying to cross South Florida Avenue in a westbound direction from Palmetto Avenue. That's when Brown was hit by a vehicle heading south on South Florida Avenue.
Brown was taken to the hospital but died from her injuries.
LPD was able to determine that the suspect vehicle involved in the hit-and-run crash was a 2018-2022 Range Rover 2 that was possibly gray or silver in color.
An employee of the Lakeland Body Shop Collision Repair contacted police and said that a person dropped off a car that matched that description for repairs. LPD said that investigators examined the vehicle and saw that it had been recently washed and the owner had made attempts to fix the damage with zip ties and tape.
Police found that the vehicle belonged to Kovacs. LPD said that they also found additional surveillance videos from downtown and the surrounding area that showed him drinking in downtown Lakeland, getting in the Range Rover, running over the victim and leaving the scene of the crash.
LPD said that Kovacs is charged with leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death and tampering with physical evidence.
A Hardee County grandmother is on trial this week for leaving her 7-month-old granddaughter in a hot car where the baby died —the second grandchild to die under Tracey Nix's care. ABC Action News I-Team Reporter Kylie McGivern sat down with Kaila Nix just days ahead of her mother's trial for aggravated manslaughter.
