Girl struck in crosswalk by school

GLENDALE — A 12-year-old Woodrow Wilson Middle School student was struck and injured Monday morning by a car driven by a parent who had just dropped off his child at the school, police said.

The girl, whose name was not released, was walking to school and entered a marked crosswalk at 8:04 a.m. when Patrick Tchatalbachian, who was driving west on Monterey Road, failed to stop at the crosswalk and hit the girl, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

“He failed to yield for a pedestrian,” Lorenz said.

Paramedics took the girl to Glendale Adventist Medical Center after she complained of pain in her leg, shin and hip.

“She was shaken up and was not severely injured,” said Supt. Michael Escalante.

The district has not received complaints from residents about traffic issues in front of the school, but officials have heard concerns about the rear of the school, Escalante said.

The rear of the school is an open area prone to speeding, whereas the front of the school is not as wide and has fewer lanes, he said.

Resident Jack Koudouzian heard police sirens Monday morning and found out about the accident later. He said he has often seen children run into the street without looking before they cross.

The neighborhood is relatively quiet, and most motorists drive slowly on the 1200 block of Monterey Road, he said.

“It’s a safe neighborhood,” Koudouzian said.

Monday’s accident came nearly three months after 11-year-old Meri Nalbandyan was struck and killed while using the crosswalk in front of Toll Middle School at 700 Glenwood Road.

Meri, who was a sixth-grader at the school, had been dropped off Oct. 29 by her mother and began walking on the crosswalk toward the school when she was hit by motorist Yurie Park, who had just dropped off her children at another school and was traveling about 15 mph. Meri died from her injuries at the hospital later that day.

Soon after Meri’s death, school and city officials began looking at ways to increase public education about pedestrian and driver safety.

“People need to pay attention when they are around schools,” Escalante said. “They need to be constantly vigilant.”

In the case of Monday’s incident, he said, the girl walked in the marked crosswalk, and nothing was in the way of Tchatalbachian’s vision to prevent him from seeing the road.

“People just need to not be in such a rush around schools,” Escalante said.