The Burbank City Council took measures to address the aftermath of the tragic Glenoaks Blvd. car accident at their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 10.
At 11:50 p.m. on Aug. 3, a vehicle was struck at the intersection of Glenoaks Blvd. and Andover Dr., taking the lives of three innocent victims who appear to have been hit as a result of two cars engaged in street racing.
During the opening of the meeting, which is dedicated to general announcements, this tragedy was the first subject discussed. Burbank Mayor Bob Frutos made a statement before initiating a moment of silence to honor 21-year-old Cerain Baker, 20-year-old Jaiden Johnson, and 19-year-old Natalee Moghaddam, the three victims of the accident.
“As a Burbank community and the City Council, we mourn the tragic loss of these young lives and wish peace and healing for their families,” Frutos said.
After this speech, each member of the council offered their condolences to the victims of the crash and their loved ones. Likewise, Burbank interim Chief of Police Mike Albanese expressed his sympathies prior to presenting a high-level overview of the current status of the investigation before the council.
This overview included the update that one of the individuals who was involved in the crash and had been in the hospital has since been released. One more individual still remains hospitalized due to injuries sustained in the collision.
The Burbank Police Department has continued their exhaustive investigation of the incident, which Albanese explained includes reviewing digital, media, and physical evidence, conducting interviews, completing crime scene mapping, and evaluating numerous categories of camera footage. In addition, the department is collaborating with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office regarding the potential for any prosecutorial considerations of this case.
“This is going to be a patient journey,” Albanese said. “This is a complicated investigation that involves a number of things…it is going to take time…I would ask the council [and] the community for patience moving forward because we want to do a complete and thorough investigation.”
Raising awareness on the dangers of street racing continues to be a strong mission of the BPD, as they reposted one of their educational videos on the subject from March of this year following the collision.
While evaluating items on the Consent Calendar, the council also amended alterations of local speed limits in the City beyond Glenoaks Blvd. The passage of this proposal will impact the area along San Fernando Blvd. ranging from Magnolia Blvd. to Verdugo Ave., which will now be a 25 mph zone. Furthermore, the legal speed limit of Scott Rd., ranging from Glenoaks Blvd. to San Fernando Blvd., will be changed to 30 mph.
Councilmember Nick Schultz took a moment at the Introduction of Additional Agenda Items to initiate a discussion on measures that can be taken to additionally promote traffic safety. This comes after, in the days following the tragedy, Schultz voiced his desire to lead a conversation on exploring amenities such as radar signs, timed traffic lights, or speed bumps to prevent a similar event from occurring again in the future.
“I would like a report back and agenda discussion item on options for enhanced traffic and pedestrian safety measures along Glenoaks,” Schultz requested before the council.
The next Burbank City Council meeting is set to take place on August 24. The agenda of this meeting will subsequently include staff reports on traffic information to set up this conversation on keeping Burbank streets, including Glenoaks Blvd., safe from vehicular hazards looking ahead.
More information on Burbank City Council meetings, including archived meeting videos, agendas, and more, can be found here.
The solution starts in the home with parenting. I would recommend our City Council allow the leadership at the police department focus on doing their job. Fewer meetings with our police workers and more patrols. Those hours in chambers and in meetings are lost opportunities. I question the benefit of speed bumps and radar signs. I find the signs themselves are distracting to every day driving. The speed bumps only get installed on residential streets and high-speed accidents are occurring on main roads.
No matter how many different solutions are proposed, it all comes down to basics. Quality parenting helps raise responsible children. Fewer meetings and more patrols means visual deterrents for speeding and racing. Back to basics please.
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