Police: Driver who killed man ran a stop sign
SOUTH GLENDALE — Police say the 20-year-old woman who struck and killed an 80-year-old man as he used a crosswalk Wednesday night ran a stop sign.
The man, who was identified Thursday as Misak Ranjbar, died from head trauma as a result of being struck by the car at Columbus and California avenues, said Ed Winter, a Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman.
Ranjbar was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The motorist, Ani Voskanian, 20, of Tujunga, was headed west on California Avenue about 6:37 p.m. when she failed to yield at the four-way stop and hit Ranjbar, who had been heading north on Columbus Avenue, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.
“She did not even slow down,” he said.
No charges have been filed, as the investigation is ongoing.
Voskanian allegedly struck the man with the right side of her compact sedan, cracking its windshield.
After being thrown into the air, Ranjbar landed on the pavement, police said. Voskanian stopped shortly after hitting him and remained at the scene.
So far, investigators have determined that Voskanian made no attempt to slow down, Lorenz said, and they are looking into whether she was distracted.
Ranjbar probably didn’t see the car in time to react, Lorenz said.
Walking around the south Glendale neighborhood was routine for Ranjbar, said his son, Roger.
He often walked two to three miles a day around the neighborhood in an effort to keep his blood pressure under control because he suffered from diabetes, Roger Ranjbar said.
“That was a normal routine for him,” he said.
Roger Ranjbar was headed home that evening and noticed California Avenue had been roped off with police tape.
“I thought it was construction, not knowing my dad was at the other end,” he said.
When he got home, several police officers informed him that his father had been struck and killed.
“I just hope it was an accident, and nothing else like alcohol, or drugs, or like texting or talking on the phone,” Roger Ranjbar said.