CARLSBAD, Calif.– On October 17, 2025, at approximately 11:19 a.m., the City of Carlsbad Police Department responded to the area of Tamarack Avenue and Skyline Road following reports of a traffic collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian. The caller reported that the driver had initially left the scene.
Upon arrival, officers located a pedestrian in the roadway who had succumbed to injuries sustained in the collision. While officers were on scene, the driver returned to the location. The driver has been identified as 57-year-old Paul Hiniker of Carlsbad.
Hiniker was arrested for leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death and vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. He will be booked into the Vista Detention Facility.
The identity of the deceased will be released by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of the collision remains under investigation, and alcohol is not believed to be a contributing factor.
The Carlsbad Police Department is seeking additional witnesses. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Traffic Accident Investigator Ricardo Huerta.
For more information
Ricardo Huerta, Traffic Accident Investigator, 442-339-5621 or ricardo.huerta@carlsbadca.gov
