An Armenian youth died in a major road accident in the US State of California.
The 20-year-old Burbank man, whose body landed on an overhead exit ramp sign after a rollover crash near Griffith Park, was passing vehicles on the right shoulder of the 5 Freeway before veering out of control, reported KTLA television.
The collision occurred just before 7am, local time, on the southbound freeway just north of the eastbound 134 Freeway overpass.
Richard Pananian of Burbank was killed, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
A witness told the California Highway Patrol that Pananian was driving his 2004 Ford Fiesta at a high rate of speed and passing vehicles on the right shoulder.
The 45-year-old driver of a 2004 Ford F-150 was in the No. 4 lane going 50 mph when Pananian veered left from the right-hand shoulder and hit the pickup truck’s rear, according to a CHP collision report.
The Fiesta then veered right, out of control, and overturned multiple times. As the Fiesta traveled up an embankment, Pananian was ejected about 20 feet into the air, colliding with an exit ramp sign overhead, the report stated.
Pananian’s body was covered with a sheet after firefighters ascended a ladder and worked to remove the body, which remained there for several hours.
All southbound and northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway were temporarily blocked, and the two southbound right lanes were closed for an extended period.
The investigation is still in progress.