24-year-old was killed 10 years ago in a Texas hit-and-run. New tip leads to arrest

Ten years after a 24-year-old woman was left for dead after being struck by a car, an arrest has been made in the fatal 2012 hit-and-run in Texas.

Police in Corpus Christi announced on Friday, July 21, the arrest of 45-year-old Michael Atkinson, who officers say struck Kimberly Encinia on Feb. 11, 2012. Encinia was found on the side of the road with severe injuries, and she died at the hospital, police say.

The case went cold as detectives were unable to determine the driver responsible for the crash. But on July 12, 2022, police received a tip that led them to conduct additional interviews.

The new information led to an arrest warrant against Atkinson, who was already in the Nueces County Jail on unrelated charges. He was served the arrest warrant for an accident causing death or bodily injury, police said.

Encinia was walking to a friend’s Valentine’s Day sleepover when she was hit, KIII-TV reported. At the time of her death, the roadway did not include sidewalks.

That eventually changed, as the City of Corpus Christi improved the area with nine road projects that cost $62 million, KIII-TV reported.

According to an obituary, Encinia attended Del Mar College and was involved in young adult ministry and volunteer work at the American Sign Language Deaf Center in Corpus Christi.

“She loved the ministry because she felt she could make a change in their lives and had a strong pursuit to bring people to Christ,” the obituary states.

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