Match to hit-and-run car found

CENTRAL GLENDALE — Glendale Police have located the car believed to be involved in a Tuesday night hit-and-run that killed a 24-year-old woman.

Los Angeles Police Department officials tipped-off Glendale authorities at about 7 a.m. Saturday, with information that the 2003 Mercedes-Benz S430 sedan was traced to their jurisdiction in Van Nuys, Glendale Police Officer John Balian said.

The news came after Mercedes-Benz of North America rebuffed two court orders to activate the car's Global Positioning System in order to isolate the car's precise location, he said.

"We're glad that Mercedes-Benz finally yielded because, if they hadn't, we wouldn't have found it," he said.

Glendale Police took possession of the car and had it towed to a police garage, where it is undergoing forensic testing, he said.

The car's hood appears to have undergone some body work, possibly in an attempt to wipe out traces of the accident, he said.

The car's license plates were also stripped, but authorities were able to positively identify it with the vehicle identification number, he said.

Though police would not disclose exactly where the car was found, they confirmed that it was located near an area where there were several body shops. Investigators want to determine who did the body work and whether the proprietor was aware that the vehicle had been involved in a fatal accident, he said.

Police have been searching for the car since Elizabeth Sandoval was struck and killed at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday on South Glendale Avenue south of East Windsor Road, as she and a friend were crossing the street. She was thrown about 100 feet and died as a result of her injuries before paramedics arrived on the scene. The car was traveling at speeds approaching 65 miles per hour, police said.

The name of the alleged driver, Ara Grigoryan, was released on Friday, after witness descriptions implicated him in the accident. Seven citations issued to Grigoryan over the past two years, one for failing to yield to a pedestrian, also led police to the suspect.

The car and surrounding information from the witnesses combine to make Grigoryan close to being a prime suspect in the investigation, Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams said.

So far police have been unable to locate Grigoryan at any of his previous addresses.

But the recovery of the Mercedes marks a key development in the investigation, Balian said.

"I think we're hot on his trail and hopefully by notifying people that we have the vehicle … now all we need is him," he said. "We're getting more information every day."

Anyone with additional information on Tuesday night's hit-and-run incident can call the Glendale Police at (818) 548-4840, or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip hotline at (818) 507-7867.