Update: Surveillance video shows man struck by car was in crosswalk
An 86-year-old Glendale man died Monday after suffering severe head trauma when he was struck by a vehicle on Western Avenue near Glenoaks Boulevard, police said.
Abram Mehrabian was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 5:30 p.m., Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.
Contrary to initial reports from eyewitnesses that Mehrabian reportedly ran across Western outside of the crosswalk, Lorenz said he appears to have been in the crosswalk when he was struck.
Witness accounts could be different than what may actually happen because sometimes “they only see the end of something, not the beginning of something.”
Investigators recovered surveillance video of the intersection that shows clearly Mehrabian was in the crosswalk.
Still, investigators must determine whether Mehrabian or the driver had the right-of-way.
The driver, a 54-year-old man, remained at the crash scene as the police investigated the incident, which occurred just before 4:30 p.m.
He did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, police said. He reportedly also consented to be examined by a drug recognition expert.
The crash prompted police to partially close Western Avenue between San Fernando Road and Glenoaks Boulevard.
Investigators plan to talk to the driver and witnesses again as they try to determine who was at fault for the deadly collision.
In October, Leleh Issakhanian, 75, was also struck and seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver near Western and Glenoaks.
Police are still looking for the driver of the white utility van which allegedly struck her at 4:22 p.m. as she exited her parked vehicle in the 1100 block of Western Avenue.
The latest crash comes after the Police Department released its 2013 fatality figures this year that showed traffic-related deaths increased by 200% last year.
Last year, six people died in traffic-related collisions. That number was up from two deaths in 2012.
Police also logged 111 pedestrian-involved collisions last year, which increased slightly by three in 2012.
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Follow Veronica Rocha on Google+ and on Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA.
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