Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Man Fatally Hit by Truck While Crossing 210 Freeway Identified

Wet conditions partially to blame for the fatal collision, CHP says.

UPDATE, 4:38 pm.: The man fatally struck by a box truck while attempting to cross the 210 Freeway has been identified as Arno Shakhmalian, 18, of Glendale, according to the California Highway Patrol.

His 18-year-companion is identified as Gabrielle Lavarro, 18, of La Crescenta. Lavarro was uninjured in the incident. The driver of the box truck, 40-year-old Keith Williams of San Bernardino, was also uninjured.

The following account of the incident comes from the CHP report.

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At approximately 9:20 a.m., Shakhmalian was in his Lexus traveling on the westbound 210 Freeway near the Arroyo Boulevard/Windsor Avenue exit. Possibly because the road was slick from the recent rain, he lost control of his vehicle, which spun before coming to a stop, blocking the #3 and #4 lanes.

Traffic began to slow to a stop in the #3 and #4 lanes as both Shakhmalian and his passenger, Lavarro, got out of the car. Meanwhile, Williams, in the #2 lane, saw the pair standing outside of the Lexus. He began to slow to 35-40 m.p.h. as he approached the collision. Without warning, Shakhmalian began to run across traffic lanes towards the center median, with Lavarro following close behind him. 

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The pair came directly in the path of Williams' Chevrolet/Box Truck. Williams veered to the left, but was unable to avoid hitting Shakhmalian. Williams' truck collided with the center median wall. 

Paramedics transported Shakhmalian to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m. The collision is still under investigation.

Original:  All lanes of the 210 freeway westbound are clear following an accident and fatality that occurred on the 210 westbound near Arroyo Parkway Thursday. 

See Patch’s earlier story here.

A vehicle spun out and was facing the wrong way in the middle of the 210 freeway at about 9:22 a.m. Thursday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A man and woman in the car got out and tried to run across the freeway but the man was hit by a box truck and later died at the hospital, a CHP official told Patch. It is unclear if the woman sustained any injuries.

Several lanes on both sides of the freeway were blocked Thursday morning.

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