Tania Chatila
Jilbert Keshishian was almost home. He had just called his mother to
say he'd be there for lunch. But in an instant, the 19-year-old
Glendale Community College student was killed -- the victim of a
collision on a Burbank street.
Friends and family are still absorbing the shock of the collision,
which happened Thursday when Artin Vartanian, 22, of Glendale,
maneuvered his Honda Civic -- with Keshishian as his passenger --
around several cars stopped at a yellow light as he drove west on
Alameda Avenue just after noon.
Witnesses reported that at the same time Vartanian drove his Honda
Civic into the right curb lane to pass the vehicles, a Nissan Maxima,
traveling east on Alameda Avenue, was making a left turn onto Flower
Street, police said.
The cars collided and Vartanian's Honda spun out of control,
striking a metal signal light pole.
"He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, because it
wasn't his fault," said Jessie Yaacoubian, Keshishian's friend. "He
was just a passenger."
While Vartanian sustained only minor injuries, Keshishian was
transported to a nearby hospital, where he died.
The driver of the Nissan, a 29-year-old Glendale resident, was
uninjured.
"Any time someone loses a life in a traffic accident, it's a
terrible thing," Burbank Police Sgt. Jay Jette said.
Keshishian was on his way home when the collision occurred.
"He had just called his mom saying, 'I'll be home in a little bit
for lunch,'" said Talin Babayan, who has known Keshishian since he
was 4 years old. "He was loved by many. There was about 100 people in
his small house [Thursday]. It was a very sad moment. And for
someone's stupidity of driving, it's even worse."
"It was very much a shock. It happened too fast," said Yaacoubian.
"He was very, very much loved by everyone. He was very caring and
generous. There is very few people out there like him. Right now it's
just really hard, of course. We don't know how we're going to get
through it, but we're trying."
Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.
Memorial and funeral services for Keshishian have not yet been
planned.
"He cared about a lot of people and he had a big heart," Babayan
said. "He will be missed."
