An auto body shop employee and surveillance cameras helped detectives piece together a fatal hit-and-run case in Lakeland from November.
Minutes after midnight on Nov. 23, Lakeland police said Robin Brown, 67, was walking across South Florida Avenue at Palmetto Street when she was hit by a car that never stopped.
Brown died.
“The fact that you hit a human being, you left them for dead, you didn’t call the police and you didn’t render aid, I think our community wants to know why,” Lakeland Police Capt. Cheryl Kimball said.
According to police, detectives found a Range Rover hood vent on the scene.
Officers canvassed local auto shops and received a call from Lakeland Body Shop Collision Repair about a vehicle that was dropped off on the morning of Nov. 25.
The registered owner of the vehicle, Daniel Kovacs, 41, called the body shop at 9:13 am on Nov. 23, according to his affidavit.
“My investigator went up there and saw that it was consistent with the physical evidence he collected at the scene of the crash,” Kimball said.
According to police, tape and zip ties were purchased and used to temporarily repair some of the damage.
Using various surveillance cameras, police were able to track the vehicle through downtown Lakeland and identify Kovacs as the suspect.
Before the crash, police said Kovacs purchased six bourbon Old Fashions, three twin espresso martinis, and a Corona Extra at a downtown Lakeland bar between 9:55 p.m. and 11:32 p.m. on Nov. 22, totaling $205.74 with tax and tip.
A person with him, the passenger in his vehicle, also bought drinks using cash, according to police.
The passenger is cooperating with police.
Kovacs was arrested Wednesday on leaving the scene of a crash involving death and tampering with physical evidence charges.
He faced a judge Thursday about a bond and a curfew.
“I’m a professional engineer and a consultant, your Honor,” Kovacs said. “Typically we start at around 7 a.m. and, in some cases, go as late as 7 p.m. depending on meeting schedules, but I can get around that.”
“He has significant ties to the community,” his attorney Victoria Hatfield said. “He is a resident of Polk County. He is a small business owner in Polk County, and I am not aware of any prior record, your Honor.”
A judge set bond at $550,000 with a curfew set of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
According to a search warrant, Kovacs’ debit card was used at Tampa General Hospital in the timeframe of Nov. 23 to Nov. 24.
No medical records were found.
Police said neither Kovacs nor the passenger claimed they were injured.
“How do you have that on your conscience just knowing that you killed someone’s mother, aunt, wife, girlfriend? I couldn’t do it,” Kimball said.