Crime & Safety
Driver Pleads Not Guilty in Valley Village Good Samaritan Deaths
Arman Samsonian faces two felony counts for crashing a car into a fire hydrant that resulted in the electrocution of two women.
A Glendale man who crashed his car in Valley Village this summer pleaded not guilty Monday to vehicular manslaughter charges in connection to the electrocution of two women who tried to render aid, the Glendale News Press reports.
On the evening of Aug. 22, Arman Samsonian, 19, lost control of his SUV and crashed into a fire pole and a fire hydrant at Magnolia Boulevard and Ben Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
When they approached the vehicle to offer help, Stacey Schreiber, 39, of Valley Village and Irma Zamora, 40, of Burbank, were electrocuted by more than 4,000 volts after stepping in water that mixed with downed power lines.
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Six people, including the driver, were injured.
Samsonian was allegedly speeding, Los Angeles County district attorney officials told the Glendale News Press.
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He turned himself in on Oct. 25.
If convicted, Samsonian could face up to seven years and four months in prison, according to the Glendale News Press.
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