20-Year-Old Pasadena UCLA Student Killed in Horrific Freeway Crash

A 20-year-old Pasadena woman died in a freeway collision about 2 a.m. Thursday on the 101 eastbound transition to the southbound 101 Freeway near Tujunga Avenue in North Hollywood.

She was identified as Sera Aintablian by the L.A. County coroner’s office.

Aintablian was a UCLA student who had graduated from the AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School in Pasadena.

California Highway Patrol said it received a report of a solo-vehicle crash in which the car was cut in half and the front half of the car was then struck by a second vehicle. Aintablian was pronounced dead at the scene.

The condition of the driver of the second car was not known.

Media reports indicated Aintablian was driving on the 101 Freeway when she may have realized she needed to merge into the eastbound lanes to continue onto the 134 Freeway. She may have been attempting to cross lanes when she lost control of her vehicle and smashed into the center divider near the Tujunga Avenue exit, according to reports attributed to CHP detectives.

According to KCBS-TV, Aintablian was a gifted only child who earned many accolades. She was on spring break and was returning home from visiting a friend in the San Fernando Valley. She was reportedly valedictorian of her high school class and was studying microbiology at UCLA. She hoped to go to medical school.

In a scholarship video, Aintablian said she wanted to inspire Armenian-American students to pursue their dreams.

Aintablian had selected UCLA for college after being accepted by UCI, UCSB, UC Davis and being waitlisted at UC Berkeley.