UCLA Student Identified As Victim Of Fatal 101 Crash

STUDIO CITY, CA — The victim of a fatal 101 freeway crash that split a car in half was identified Friday.

The L.A. County coroner’s office confirmed that the victim of the crash was Sera Aintablian, a 20-year-old UCLA student from Pasadena. At around 2 a.m. Thursday, Aintablian was returning home from her boyfriend’s house in the San Fernando Valley and traveling southbound on the 101 freeway near Studio City, California Highway Patrol investigators told Fox 11 News.

She started merging onto the 134, but realized she needed to stay on the 101. According to CHP, she tried switching lanes, but lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a center divider near the Tujunga Avenue off-ramp, splitting her car in half. The driver of a red SUV apparently did not see her car and slammed into it. The condition of the drivers of the red SUV is unknown, according to Fox.

Emergency responders pronounced Aintablian dead on the scene, the coroner’s office confirmed.

Authorities closed eastbound and transition lanes of a large stretch of the 101 for several hours during morning rush hour, causing major delays. All lanes reopened around 7:30 a.m., CHP told KTLA.