Panorama City Man Dies in Crash

A 38-year-old Panorama City man was killed Thursday morning when his car crashed into a traffic light pole on Burbank Boulevard, police said.

The motorist, whose name was not released, was driving west on Burbank near the Hollywood Freeway off-ramp about 5:50 a.m. when his car drifted into the pole, Los Angeles Police Officer Frank Zedroy said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“He could have fallen asleep at the wheel,” said Zedroy, adding that there were no signs of alcohol use.

Ironically, Zedroy said, the man had recently been ticketed for driving without a seat belt and was not wearing a belt when he crashed. “If he had been wearing his seat belt, he’d probably have been OK,” Zedroy said.