First published in the Aug. 20 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
The mother of one of three people killed in a fiery three-vehicle collision in Burbank in 2021 that allegedly occurred during an illegal street race is suing the city and Los Angeles County, alleging officials knew of prior unlawful high-speed conduct and failed to take proper steps to curtail it.
The vehicle in which the three people were killed was not involved in the suspected street race.
Nichole Richardson, the mother of the late Jaiden Kishon Johnson of Burbank, brought the negligence/wrongful-death suit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, naming as defendants the drivers and owners of the vehicles allegedly involved in the street race, including 20-year-old Hamlet Arseni Aghajanyan from Burbank.
He has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of reckless driving in criminal court, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The civil suit seeks unspecified damages.
“Although the city cannot comment on an active lawsuit at this time, the city continues to support the Burbank Police Department, BUSD and local organizations as they work to address the serious dangers of criminal street racing in our community,” said Burbank city officials in a statement to the Leader.
“The city of Burbank extends its deepest condolences to the grieving friends and families impacted by the 2021 Glenoaks car crash that took the lives of three young people.”
Along with the 20-year-old Johnson, those also killed in the Aug. 3, 2021, crash on North Glenoaks Boulevard at Andover Drive were Cerain Anthony Raekwon Baker, 21, of Pasadena, and Natalee Asal Moghaddam, 19, of Calabasas.
The court filings claim that, despite allegedly knowing about past high-speed contests on Glenoaks and other busy streets in the city and elsewhere in the county, neither government entity did anything to “deter or prevent dangerous and illegal street racing and high-speed activities from occurring, despite having the means and ability to do so.”
The victims were in a silver Volkswagen Jetta that was “attempting to negotiate a left turn from southbound Glenoaks Boulevard to eastbound Andover Drive, when the traffic collision occurred,” Burbank police Sgt. Emil Brimway said shortly after the crash.
Aghajanyan, who was in a gray Kia, was seriously injured, according to police.
A teenager, then 17 years old, who is not named because of his age, was allegedly behind the wheel of a black Mercedes-Benz racing the Kia, and he also is a defendant in the suit. The Volkswagen’s driver, Shana Rohani, is also named as a defendant even though Rohani was not involved in the alleged street race.
Johnson had a full-time job working security and spoke daily to his mother after having recently moved to California to “chase his dreams and goal of becoming a music producer” and his goals had just started taking shape, according to the lawsuit.
“Unfortunately, this incident took Jaiden Johnson’s life, dreams and goals away prematurely,” the suit states.
-City News Service contributed to this report
