Man arrested in connection with 2012 fatal hit-and-run cold case
A man was arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run cold case from 2012, the Corpus Christi Police Department announced Friday.
On July 12, the Traffic Section Unit — responsible for motor vehicle crash investigations, traffic enforcement, DWI enforcement, traffic control and police rotation wreckers — received information on a possible suspect in a hit-and-run crash in early 2012.
Detectives conducted additional interviews and presented the information to the Nueces County District Attorney's Office to secure an arrest warrant for 45-year-old Michael Atkinson.
Atkinson was served the warrant for accident causing death or bodily injury with a $250,000 bond. He was already incarcerated at the Nueces County Jail on unrelated charges, Senior Officer Travis Pace said.
In 2012, Corpus Christi police officers responded to a major crash at the 7500 block of McArdle Road and located 24-year-old Kimberly Encinia on the side of the roadway suffering from severe injuries. Encinia later died of her injuries at a local hospital.
Police said detectives with the Traffic Section Follow-Up responded to the scene to take over the investigation from the first responding patrol officers, but over several months the detectives were unable to identify of the suspect, and the case went cold.
"They didn't have any leads or anything to follow up on," Pace said. "That's typically how cases will go cold. They exhausted all their resources at the time and didn't have anything else to pursue to pinpoint an individual."
Pace said that because the case is an active investigation, he could not disclose the new information found against Atkinson.
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John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com or Twitter @johnpoliva.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Man arrested in connection with 2012 fatal hit-and-run cold case
