‘Did not want to be late’: Woman charged with hit-and-run told boss she had ‘possibly killed someone’ on the way to work that morning, cops say

A Florida woman allegedly hit a pedestrian while driving toward work in the early morning hours — killing her — and fleeing the scene.

Aliya Cruz, 24, struck and killed Danielle Stilwell, 27, on Aug. 18, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. According to officials, a call was made to the sheriff’s office shortly before 4 a.m. that day regarding a woman lying in the middle of West Highland Street in Lakeland, around 35 miles east of Tampa.

First responders arrived to find Stilwell “deceased in the roadway, and broken vehicle parts indicating a vehicle was involved, although no vehicle was found at the scene,” the sheriff’s office said. Those parts included the front driver’s side fender liner and a piece of the front bumper.

Surveillance video from a nearby gas station showed what was later identified as Cruz’s car “traveling westbound from the scene of the crash on W. Highland. The vehicle made a right turn at the red light, heading north on Wabash, then immediately made a U-turn to head south. The vehicle then turned right to go westbound on W. Highland St. The vehicle did not remain on scene, nor did the driver render aid or call for help.”

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That car was later located in the driveway of a house on West Highland Street, the sheriff’s office said. It was also missing a piece of the driver’s side bumper and the front left wheel fender liner, “consistent with the parts left behind at the scene,” the statement said. Investigators determined that the car belonged to Cruz.

Cruz herself told detectives that she had left her home at around 3:50 a.m. that day to go to work at a Publix warehouse, and that she had to be there by 4 a.m. Her daily route to work took her west on West Highland Street, the press release noted.

“She told detectives that as she was driving, a truck approached her from the opposite direction with high beam lights on, impairing her vision,” the sheriff’s office statement said. “The truck turned right, and then she observed a woman lying on the roadway in front of her with her hands over her face. She told detectives that she swerved right to avoid striking the woman, and went off the road into the grass. She said she believed that she did not hit the person but she was not sure. She said she turned right at the light, then made a U-turn in the middle of the road, and went back to W. Highland St. to head to work because she did not want to be late to work.”

After arriving at work, Cruz reportedly told one of her supervisors that she had “possibly killed someone,” the statement said. Cruz even reportedly showed her supervisor pictures of the damage to her car, and her supervisor responded by urging her to call police and report the incident.

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“I don’t really want to say anything,” Cruz reportedly said. She allegedly made additional statements, including “Well uhm, I know I didn’t hit them,” “I don’t think I hit the person,” and “I know I swerved,” the statement noted.

It is unclear from the surveillance video, which was reviewed by Law&Crime, whether a truck was heading eastbound prior to Cruz turning right and making a U-turn.

“[T]here isn’t anything [on the video] to corroborate her story,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office told Law&Crime in an email.

According to the sheriff’s office, in a second interview with Cruz on Friday, she said she told her boss “she was worried because she was unsure if she struck the person or not.”

She reportedly asked her boss what she should do.

“He said that she should have stopped and that she should notify the police,” the sheriff’s statement said.

Court records did not reflect the pending charges against Cruz, who appears to have a history of traffic infractions in the county, including speeding and failure to stop at a stop sign.

The post ‘Did not want to be late’: Woman charged with hit-and-run told boss she had ‘possibly killed someone’ on the way to work that morning, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime.