Pedestrian killed near Glendale Community College
An 86-year-old Glendale man, crossing five traffic lanes with a shopping cart, was struck and killed Wednesday morning a half-mile south of Glendale Community College, police said.
The man, identified as Antranik Melkonian, suffered head trauma and was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to Glendale police.
Police said the man, who was pulling a cart containing groceries and illegally crossing in the 1000 block of North Glendale Avenue, was struck by a 24-year-old driver at about 9:45 a.m.
The driver stopped at the scene and remained there as investigators evaluated him. Police determined he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The death marks the second pedestrian-involved traffic fatality this year in Glendale.
Abram Mehrabian, who was also 86 years old, was struck and killed struck in January by a vehicle on Western Avenue near Glenoaks Boulevard.
Just last week, city officials announced they were hosting a pedestrian safety workshop on April 17 with UC Berkeley’s Safe Transportation Research and Education Center to improve walking and driving in Glendale.
A similar workshop was held in 2009 after organizers selected Glendale due to its high number of pedestrian-involved collisions and fatalities.
Police officials said strict traffic enforcement will continue.
Drivers and pedestrians need change their behavior and refocus their attention while navigating city roads, Police Chief Robert Castro said in a statement.
“Even with the concerted efforts and operations recently conducted by the police department, we need the community’s assistance to change commuting habits in order to eliminate these preventable tragedies,” he said.
On Tuesday, newly appointed Mayor Zareh Sinanyan stated that one of his priorities would be to reduce pedestrian and bicyclist deaths. On Wednesday, he reiterated this in a statement on Facebook.
“These are human lives, our neighbors, friends, family members,” he wrote. “The anguish of the family of the victim is compounded by the mental torment of the motorist who appears not to have been at fault whatsoever. In any case, the point is, there is a lot to do, much work to be done on this key issue.”
-- Veronica Rocha, veronica.rocha@latimes.com
Follow on Google+ and on Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA.
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