POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Lakeland woman was arrested Friday in connection to a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred four days earlier, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Aliya Cruz, 24, will face a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Around 4 a.m. Aug. 18, a 911 caller reported seeing a woman lying in the middle of W Highland Street in Lakeland, the release states. The woman — identified as 27-year-old Danielle Stilwell — was dead, the sheriff’s office said, adding there were broken vehicle parts nearby despite no vehicle being there.

Investigators got help from local dealerships in determining that the vehicle parts at the scene would have belonged to a 2019-22 Kia Forte, according to the release. Canvassing the area of the crash, deputies who were reviewing surveillance footage from a nearby Sunoco observed a black sedan recorded traveling westbound from the scene of the crash on W Highland Street, the release states.

Reviewing a list of black 2019-22 Kia Fortes registered in Polk County, deputies located one parked in the driveway of a house along W Highland Street, the sheriff’s office said. It was missing the same vehicle parts that were found near Stilwell, according to the release.

Detectives soon located and interviewed Cruz, described as the vehicle’s drier and sole owner, the release states. Cruz allegedly said that she was driving to work when she “observed a woman lying on the roadway in front of her with her hands over her face,” claiming she swerved to avoid her and did not stop because she didn’t want to be late.

Detectives then heard from Cruz’s supervisors at her workplace, who allegedly said “Cruz told (them) she had ‘possibly killed someone,’” and showed them pictures of the damage to her car, according to the release.

She showed him photos of the damage to her car. He advised her to call the police and report it. She made other statements such as,“I don’t really want to say anything,” “Well uhm, I know I didn’t hit them,” “I don’t think I hit the person,” and “I know I swerved.”

On August 22, 2025, detectives interviewed Cruz again, and she told them that when she got to work that morning she took photos of the damage to her car and showed her boss and told him that she was worried because she was unsure if she struck the person or not. She asked him what she should do. He said that she should have stopped and that she should notify the police.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office