Council targets speeders

CITY HALL — The Glendale City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution supporting a state Assembly bill that would double the penalties for some of the speediest drivers who authorities say pose the greatest risk on neighborhood streets.

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, whose district includes Glendale and Burbank, wrote Assembly Bill 2669, which would double the penalty points for drivers caught going more than 26 mph over the posted speed limit, in response to a string of local high-speed-related deaths over the past few years, most notably the death of 24-year-old pedestrian Elizabeth Sandoval in July.

Councilman Ara Najarian, who called for the resolution, said the bill would go a long way in clamping down on “habitual speeders” who, if the law is passed, would be put on the fast track to loosing their license.

Several City Council members have come out hard against Glendale’s persistent driving- and pedestrian-related safety problems, and the Police Department has engaged in several high-profile campaigns to reduce speeding on some the busiest streets, including pedestrian jaywalking stings, helicopter patrols and the installation of red-light cameras.

“I think it’s an excellent bill,” said Glendale Police Sgt. Dennis Smith, who testified in support of the proposed law last month to the state Assembly’s Transportation Committee. “We’ve had several cases and tragic consequences of people driving at excessive speeds.”

On July 10, 2007, 20-year-old Ara Grigoryan reportedly failed to stop after he drove his Mercedes-Benz sedan into Sandoval as she crossed South Glendale Avenue mid-block from East Windsor Road. She died at the scene, and prosecutors allege that Grigoryan was traveling at least 60 mph in a 35-mph zone at 9:40 p.m.

Grigoryan’s attorneys have never disputed that he was behind the wheel of the car and instead have sought lesser charges of manslaughter. Attorneys in the hit-and-run murder trial are expected to settle on a potential trial date today in Pasadena Superior Court after months of delays.

In March, a Glendale man was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the 2005 hit-and-run murder of a Burbank teenager. Andranik Atshemyan, 25, was convicted of slamming his Land Rover into the teenager’s parked car after losing control of the speeding SUV on Columbus Avenue.