2 Arrested In Street Racing Crash That Killed Pasadena Man

Pasadena CA

20 August, 2021

5:39 PM

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PASADENA, CA — Police on Thursday arrested two teens suspected of causing a deadly crash while street racing in Burbank that took the life of 21-year-old Pasadena resident Cerain Anthony Raekwon Baker and two others. According to the Burbank Police Department, a 17-year-old boy was driving a black Mercedes-Benz while racing the driver of a Kia along Glenoaks Boulevard on Aug. 3 when the Kia slammed into a Volkswagen, killing three people. Burbank resident Jaiden Kishon Johnson, 20, Calabasas resident Natalee Asal Moghaddam, 19, and Baker were pronounced dead at the scene after they were ejected from the Volkswagen. The driver of the Kia, 19-year-old Hamlet Arseni Aghajanyan, suffered traumatic injuries, but the Mercedes driver fled the scene without stopping to render aid, according to police. Authorities on Thursday arrested Aghajanyan and a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of three counts of murder and one count of reckless driving. Police contend the 17-year-old was driving the Mercedes that fled the scene. Aghajanyan is being held on $6 million bail and is expected to appear in court on Monday. The 17-year-old driver is being detained at a juvenile detention facility. The crash occurred at about 11:50 p.m. Aug. 3 on North Glenoaks Boulevard at Andover Drive, said Burbank police Sgt. Emil Brimway, who said the fatally injured victims were not involved in the alleged street race. A fourth occupant of the Volkswagen sustained serious injuries and was taken to a local trauma center, police said. Aghajanyan, who was found seriously injured in a gray Kia, was also taken to a trauma center for treatment, according to police. Brimway said then that "the Kia and Mercedes-Benz were traveling northbound on Glenoaks Boulevard at a high rate of speed for several blocks and appeared to be racing. The Volkswagen was attempting to negotiate a left turn from southbound Glenoaks Boulevard to eastbound Andover Drive, when the traffic collision occurred." One of the cars was "partially broken in half," according to police, who said several parked vehicles also were damaged. Burbank detectives are still investigating the collision and asked anyone with information to contact the department's Investigation Division at 818-238-3210. City News Service and Patch Staffer contributed to this report.