Motorcycle

A motorcyclist was arrested Saturday night after allegedly leading police on a high-speed pursuit on city streets that ended when he crashed and was thrown from his bike. Hovhannes Markarian, 23 of North Hollywood, was taken into custody about 10:47 p.m. at North Central Avenue and Goode Avenue on suspicion of reckless driving when he was evading a police officer, according to Glendale police reports. The officer tried to pull over Markarian after he drove through a red light on Brand Boulevard, police said.

Two separate traffic accidents on the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley left two people dead and two others injured on Sunday, all amid a popular children's charity event that attracts hundreds of motorcycle riders, according to event organizers and the California Highway Patrol. Authorities and organizers were trying to determine whether the two people killed were taking part in a motorcycle ride from Glendale to Castaic Lake to help raise money for autism research. "Whether they were or not, this was a tragic accident," said spokeswoman Susan Morrison.

A 19-year-old Burbank man died Tuesday morning after he was ejected from his motorcycle when it collided with a car on the Interstate 5 in Burbank, officials said. The man, identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office as Aroutin Hagnazarian, was pronounced dead at the scene by Burbank firefighters. California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Denmon said witnesses reported the 2004 Kawasaki was travelling about 65 mph between a vehicle and a temporary concrete wall near the No. 4 lane at about 10:40 a.m. Hagnazarian then switched back and forth with the No. 2 lane before colliding with the right rear of another vehicle in the southbound lanes near Magnolia Boulevard, Denmon said.

Traveling, river rafting, hang gliding and taking road trips are some of Patti O?Meara?s favorite pastimes. But nothing thrills this La Crescenta resident more than riding on the back of her husband Pat?s Harley-Davidson. The 64-year-old mother and grandmother takes motorcycle trips out of state and around the country with her husband, and the two participate in a number of motorcycle-related charitable events, including Glendale?s Love Ride. When O?Meara and her husband take long trips on their Harley, O?

A South Pasadena man went for a ride with the men attempting to steal his motorcycle before being threatened and bailing from a moving van, police said. On Tuesday evening, a resident on the 300 block of Pasadena Avenue heard noises and confronted three men loading his motorcycle into a white van. The man jumped into the van as it pulled away, but jumped out after he heard one of the three suspects say, “Just shoot him,” according to South Pasadena Police Sgt. Robert Bartels. Bartels said the man did not see a weapon.

Montrose resident John Abercrombie likes to stay active, whether it’s shooting pool at Sparr Heights Community Center or swimming laps at the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA. But his favorite pastime is riding his motorcycle. After more than 20 years of cruising on a motorcycle, Abercrombie, 78, still enjoys the thrill of the ride. Every Sunday, he takes out his Honda Goldwing for a spin, often going to Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace. Although his wife, Dorothy, calls his motorcycle a “murdercycle,” Abercrombie, said he’s never been afraid of getting on a motorcycle and compares it to riding a bicycle.

Moments before two Love Ride participants were killed Sunday in a freeway traffic collision, the event's grand marshal, “The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, told a crowd of bikers that he wanted to see “somebody go down.” “Every year, [the organizer] says 'Drive safe,'” Leno told the crowd in kicking off the 28th annual Love Ride in Glendale. “I'm gonna say, 'Don't drive safe.' I wanna see somebody go down. So it'll be fun. I want it to be in front or behind me and see a whole row of bikes go down.

CITY OF INDUSTRY — The husband of New Horizons founder Maria Rochart was killed Saturday after being thrown from his motorcycle and run over by another vehicle in a multiple-car crash on the San Gabriel Valley (605) Freeway, California Highway Patrol officials said. Roger Rochart, a 47-year-old chiropractor, was pronounced dead at the scene of Saturday's accident, which occurred about 3:55 p.m. on the northbound 605 Freeway north of Peck Road, officials said. His passenger, Daisy Tew, 50, of Arcadia, suffered serious injuries.

Angeles Crest Highway was the site of a fatal motorcycle accident Saturday afternoon involving two members of the Montrose Search and Rescue Team. According to Officer Todd Workman of the California Highway Patrol, Lucas Binford, 35, from Chatsworth was traveling westbound on the Angeles Crest Highway when his motorcycle crossed the center yellow line and crashed into a Montrose Search and Rescue vehicle traveling eastbound. The team?s vehicle, occupied by the driver and a single passenger, both members of the rescue organization, were entering a curve when the accident happened, according to Montrose Search and Rescue Capt.

California Highway Patrol vehicles were involved in a brief motorcycle chase that reached speeds up to 130 miles per hour on Saturday afternoon. ?Two CHP [vehicles] attempted to stop a motorcycle traveling at a high rate of speed traveling north bound on the 2 Freeway,? said CHP officer Todd Workman. At that time the officers reported the motorcycle had reached a speed of 100 miles per hour, Workman said. The motorcycle refused to pull over to the side of the road for the officers and a pursuit began at 4:48 p.m. The motorcycle continued traveling up north on the Glendale (2)

Moviegoers and movie critics have come away from "Oblivion" raving about the vavoom vehicles in the box-office hit starring Tom Cruise -- especially lead character Jack's futuristic folding motocross bike. Known on the set as "Jack's moto bike," the wispy ghost-white bike wheelies its way across a landscape of desert salt flats -- actually, volcanic sand in Iceland -- and transports the hero into and out of trouble throughout director Joseph Kosinski's dystopian film. The "moto bike," though, was a Honda CRF450X before local motorcycle-fabricator-to-the-stars Justin Kell started transforming it. Kell, whose Glory Motor Works has built or restored bikes for "The Master," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and " G.I. Joe 2 ," among many others, said his company built three futuristic motorcycles for Cruise and Kosinski's stunt crews to ride in "Oblivion.

A motorcyclist was arrested Saturday night after allegedly leading police on a high-speed pursuit on city streets that ended when he crashed and was thrown from his bike. Hovhannes Markarian, 23 of North Hollywood, was taken into custody about 10:47 p.m. at North Central Avenue and Goode Avenue on suspicion of reckless driving when he was evading a police officer, according to Glendale police reports. The officer tried to pull over Markarian after he drove through a red light on Brand Boulevard, police said.

A Glendale police officer was taken to the hospital Wednesday morning for minor injuries after his motorcycle crashed into a truck that was pulling into an angled parking spot on Brand Boulevard, officials said. Officer Bill Frommling was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he was treated for a sore jaw, knee and hip, Glendale Police Lt. Steve Robertson said. Frommling was conducting speed enforcement on Brand Boulevard and was going after a violator at about 30 mph just before 8:30 a.m. when the Toyota truck traveling in Brand's left lane just ahead of him made a sharp right turn across the right lane, which Frommling was in, to pull into a parking spot, Robertson said.

Burglars stole thousands of dollars worth of riding gear from a popular Glendale motorcycle shop Saturday morning and then led police on a two-hour, high-speed chase before two of the three suspects were arrested in Hawthorne. The suspects in custody were identified only as Hispanic males, and were scheduled to be booked at Glendale City Jail. A third suspect remains at large. No injuries were reported. The incident began at about 6:15 a.m. when a neighbor called police after hearing glass break at Pro Italia, a high-end motorcycle shop in the 3300 block of North Verdugo Road, Glendale Police Sgt. Dan Suttles said.

A South Pasadena man went for a ride with the men attempting to steal his motorcycle before being threatened and bailing from a moving van, police said. On Tuesday evening, a resident on the 300 block of Pasadena Avenue heard noises and confronted three men loading his motorcycle into a white van. The man jumped into the van as it pulled away, but jumped out after he heard one of the three suspects say, “Just shoot him,” according to South Pasadena Police Sgt. Robert Bartels. Bartels said the man did not see a weapon.

Two separate traffic accidents on the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley left two people dead and two others injured on Sunday, all amid a popular children's charity event that attracts hundreds of motorcycle riders, according to event organizers and the California Highway Patrol. Authorities and organizers were trying to determine whether the two people killed were taking part in a motorcycle ride from Glendale to Castaic Lake to help raise money for autism research. "Whether they were or not, this was a tragic accident," said spokeswoman Susan Morrison.

Moments before two Love Ride participants were killed Sunday in a freeway traffic collision, the event's grand marshal, “The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, told a crowd of bikers that he wanted to see “somebody go down.” “Every year, [the organizer] says 'Drive safe,'” Leno told the crowd in kicking off the 28th annual Love Ride in Glendale. “I'm gonna say, 'Don't drive safe.' I wanna see somebody go down. So it'll be fun. I want it to be in front or behind me and see a whole row of bikes go down.

A Glendale police motorcycle officer was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital this morning after a motorist pulling out of a driveway struck him, officials said. Officer Matt Bolton's condition and the extent of his injuries were not immediately known, Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. The crash occurred in the 400 block of West Lexington Drive, he said.

A 19-year-old Burbank man died Tuesday morning after he was ejected from his motorcycle when it collided with a car on the Interstate 5 in Burbank, officials said. The man, identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office as Aroutin Hagnazarian, was pronounced dead at the scene by Burbank firefighters. California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Denmon said witnesses reported the 2004 Kawasaki was travelling about 65 mph between a vehicle and a temporary concrete wall near the No. 4 lane at about 10:40 a.m. Hagnazarian then switched back and forth with the No. 2 lane before colliding with the right rear of another vehicle in the southbound lanes near Magnolia Boulevard, Denmon said.

California Highway Patrol officers issued nearly five dozen traffic citations this past weekend on the steep and mountainous Angeles Crest Highway in response to reports of speeding motorcyclists and close-call collisions. The enforcement campaign yielded citations for speeding, unsafe passing and other violations as California Highway Patrol officers staked out the 66-mile route popular with motorcyclists eager to test their skills on the roadway's tight curve. Some near-collisions, including skids into oncoming traffic, have been posted on YouTube.