A 49-year-old Encinitas attorney was left with major injuries after a driver struck him and sped off along Glen Arbor Drive on the night of August 16, knocking him clean out of his shoe. Deputies say the driver has not been found, and they are now asking the public for help identifying a specific car: a light-colored 2012–2015 Toyota Prius v with damage to its front end.
Attorney Walking Against Traffic Struck Near Leafwood Place
The victim, identified as Encinitas attorney Mike Eisenberg, told investigators that Glen Arbor Drive was a single-lane residential street with a 25 mph speed limit and that he was walking against traffic in a parking lane near Leafwood Place when a speeding vehicle veered into the shoulder and hit him, according to The Coast News Group. The impact knocked him out of his shoe and threw him onto the pavement, leaving him with severe lower-body injuries that temporarily left him unable to walk or drive, per the outlet. The San Diego County Sheriff's Office North Coastal Station confirmed deputies responded to the collision in the 400 block of Glen Arbor Drive shortly after 10:15 p.m. that night. According to the City of Encinitas's AB43 Speed Limit Reductions Annual Project listing, Glen Arbor Drive has a 25 mph speed limit in a school zone 500 ' from Park Dale Lane Elementary School Frontage.
An eyewitness walking her dog near a greenbelt on nearby Willowspring Drive told the same outlet that she heard screeching tires and a heavy thud before spotting a light-colored hatchback or small SUV with front-end damage scraping along Glen Arbor Drive as it headed south toward Encinitas Boulevard. She said she ran to help Eisenberg after hearing him call out. As reported by fox5sandiego.com, authorities are now seeking a suspect connected to the hit-and-run, and are asking witnesses or anyone with crash video to contact the San Diego County Sheriff's Office at (858) 868-3200.
Physical Evidence Points to a Specific Prius
Deputies recovered a portion of the suspect vehicle at the scene. Investigators believe the vehicle was a light-colored 2012–2015 Toyota Prius v. Authorities say the suspect car may show front passenger-side damage consistent with the collision.
Anonymous tipsters can also report information to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Under California Vehicle Code Section 20001, leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury or death is a wobbler offense that can be charged as a felony carrying up to four years in state prison and fines up to $10,000, according to Justia, regardless of who was at fault for the underlying crash. California law requires drivers involved in injury collisions to stop and render reasonable assistance.
A Familiar and Unresolved Pattern in Encinitas
The Glen Arbor Drive crash follows at least two other fatal pedestrian hit-and-runs in Encinitas where no arrests have been publicly announced, including the death of 23-year-old David D'Lima on New Year's Day 2023 and the death of a 66-year-old woman in an unsolved case from January 2025, per The Coast News Group's reporting. A separate crash occurred in Encinitas when a 2025 Nissan Z struck a woman, though the driver reportedly remained at the scene.
The pattern fits into a broader regional problem. Data from the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office shows 57 bicyclists and pedestrians were killed by hit-and-run drivers across the county over a five-year period, according to CaseyGerry. Regional traffic safety analysis has found that pedestrian fatalities in San Diego County have surged 78% since 2009, with more than 76% of fatal pedestrian collisions happening after dark, per HHJ Trial Attorneys. Statewide crash records logged over 23,000 traffic collisions countywide in 2025, according to Coast Law Group. According to California's Highway Safety Plan 2021, pedestrian fatalities increased 3.9 percent from 2019 to 2020 despite a 13.2 percent reduction in driving. The California Office of Traffic Safety says its Crash Rankings tool uses data from the Statewide Traffic Records System and allows users to view results for San Diego County.
City Pushes Infrastructure Fixes as Cases Stay Open
The available reporting does not establish that Encinitas used Caltrans Highway Safety Improvement Program grants to fund a Citywide Pedestrian Crossing Upgrades project or implemented Leading Pedestrian Interval signal adjustments. Those possibilities don't change the fact that deputies are still relying on the public to identify drivers who flee injury collisions like the one that hurt Eisenberg. For now, investigators are asking anyone who recognizes the light-colored Prius v, or who may have dashcam footage from Glen Arbor Drive that night, to come forward.
