Passenger Dies When Car Rolls Down Embankment

A 27-year-old Glendale man died Tuesday after the car he was riding in veered off the Ronald Reagan Freeway at Chatsworth Drive and rolled down an embankment, authorities said.

The victim’s name was being withheld until relatives could be notified, said Officer Doug Reynolds of the California Highway Patrol’s West Valley station.

The driver, Varuzhan Simonyan, 29, also of Glendale, was seriously injured and was in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, a nursing supervisor said.

Although no charges were filed against Simonyan on Tuesday, Reynolds said investigators suspect alcohol may have been a factor.

Simonyan was driving east on the freeway at a high rate of speed about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday when he lost control of his BMW at Chatsworth Drive, Reynolds said.

The sports car veered onto the south shoulder and rolled down an embankment.

Simonyan was thrown from the car and suffered major injuries, Reynolds said. He was not wearing a seat belt. The passenger, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident remained under investigation Tuesday by the CHP.