Niceville woman charged in fatal hit-and-run crash

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Sun Sep 27, 2026 · NICEVILLE · Okaloosa County

A Niceville woman faces a felony charge in a February hit-and-run crash that killed a 74-year-old pedestrian, closing a seven-month Florida Highway Patrol investigation.

FHP says Anne Judith Kelz was driving on Bluewater Boulevard the afternoon of Feb. 14 when her car veered off the road and hit the woman, who was walking in the pedestrian/bicycle lane. The car kept going.

Investigators later found the car in a shopping plaza on East Highway 20. It was missing the right front headlight and headlight housing and had a damaged windshield. Witnesses reported the car being driven erratically before the crash.

Kelz told investigators she did not know she had been in a collision, according to FHP. She provided a voluntary blood sample, which came back negative for drugs and alcohol.

Timeline: Feb. 14, 2026 – the crash on Bluewater Boulevard. In the months that followed, FHP investigated. Sept. 10, 2026 – a warrant was issued for Kelz’s arrest in Okaloosa County. This week – Kelz was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and released on bond.

A charge is an accusation, not a conviction. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Source: WJHG, Sept. 24, 2026 – https://www.wjhg.com/2026/09/24/niceville-woman-charged-fatal-hit-and-run-crash/

Records/press report, mapped by Emerald Coast Bookings. Charges are accusations; all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.