Two killed in fiery car crash

A fiery automobile crash on the Golden State (5) Freeway near

Griffith Park early Saturday claimed the lives of two people and sent

a third person to the hospital, the California Highway Patrol

reported.

A 1997 BMW traveling at an excessive speed careened off the

southbound Golden State Freeway at the Colorado Boulevard offramp,

hit a tree and caught fire. The driver, Ari Mathevossian, 24, of

Glendale, and his passenger, Ari Lux, 24, of Reseda, were killed.

Seroj Bakian, 25, of Glendale, was seriously injured.

The crash, reported at 2:48 a.m., occurred when the driver,

attempting to exit the freeway, lost control of the vehicle when it

jumped the curb, said Highway Patrol Officer Brian Joy.

Lux was either pulled out of the car by a passerby or was thrown

from the vehicle when it hit the tree, Joy said. Lux was taken

unconscious to County-USC Medical Center with major injuries, he

said.

It is not known if alcohol or drugs contributed to the accident,

Joy said.

Molly Shore