By Mary O’KEEFE

Update April 11

One female driver was transported to the hospital for observation after a multi-vehicle accident occurred on Thursday on Honolulu Avenue at Verdugo Road. No other injuries were reported.

At about 2 p.m. a male driver in his 80s in a pickup truck traveling eastbound on Honolulu Avenue was stopped at the traffic light at Verdugo Road. He was the third vehicle back from the signal light.

“The driver appeared to be unconscious,” said Sgt. R. William of the Glendale Police Dept.

“He apparently had some type of medical episode and fainted,” said Officer Obrusnik.

The vehicle rolled forward and hit a retaining wall in front of Tony’s Barbershop in the 2200 block of Honolulu Avenue.

“Some concerned citizens went over to the vehicle [to make certain the] driver was alright. When they tapped on the vehicle’s window the driver hit the accelerator,” Obrusnik said.

The truck then sped forward, pushing the front two vehicles into each other. One vehicle spun sideways and landed in the crosswalk, the other vehicle traveled south onto the sidewalk striking the front wall of Benitoite restaurant at the southwest corner of Verdugo Road and Honolulu Avenue.

The truck continued to accelerate eastbound.

“He turned left at the corner, partially hit a parked car and came to a stop,” Obrusnik said.

The truck hit a tree in front of the former Rocky Cola restaurant.

“He didn’t recall the incident,” the officer said.

The driver will be re-evaluated by the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, which is common in these types of accidents.

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Honolulu Avenue is closed from Market Street to Verdugo after an accident occurred this afternoon around 2 p.m. Glendale police and fire departments are investigating.
According Artin Kastarian who witnessed the accident, an elderly gentleman driving a silver pickup for some reason lost control of his vehicle and hit the retainer wall in front of Tony’s Barbershop in the 2200 block of Honolulu Ave. He looked like he was “passed out – his head was down.”
“He hit the side wall and rear-ended another vehicle. Then it was like bumper cars – everyone bumped into everyone.”

At the end, one vehicle ended up in the crosswalk on Honolulu and another car drove onto the sidewalk and into the entrance way of the yet unopened Benitoite Restaurant, the former site of Polkadots Cupcakes.

The silver pickup hit a tree in front of Rocky Cola where it stopped.

  Mary Okeefe