At approximately 9:45 am today Glendale Police Officers responded to a traffic accident involving a pedestrian on the 1000 block of North Glendale Ave.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the pedestrian was illegally crossing Glendale Ave near Verdugo Road. The pedestrian attempted to cross five lanes of traffic while pulling a cart of groceries. The 24-year old male driver of the vehicle stayed on scene and is being evaluated by investigators.  The pedestrian was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:37 a.m. 

The pedestrian is identified as Antranik Melkonian, 86 years-old of Glendale.

This is Glendale’s second pedestrian fatality in 2014, the first was in January when another 86 year-old man was struck and killed.  “Traffic safety continues to be the City Council’s highest priority along with Police Department’s top priority,” said Police Chief Rob Castro. “In order to reduce traffic collision occurrences, there needs to be a change in the mindset of all parties to refocus attention on the road and a change in behaviors of both pedestrians and drivers.  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.”

The Glendale Police Department would like to remind everyone that strict enforcement has been in place and will continue. Drive defensively, avoid distractions, and as a pedestrian, “Look 2 Live.” Go to the links at the bottom of this press release for more information on traffic safety, pedestrian safety, video messages in various languages, and the City’s efforts to Educate, Enforce and Engineer safe streets in the City of Glendale.

The City of Glendale in partnership with the Office of Traffic Safety, SafeTrec, and California Walks will present a workshop on Pedestrian Safety for the Glendale community on Thursday, April 17 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. For more information, click here.