The Tragic and Bizarre Death of Richard Pananian

The story of Richard Pananian

By Rare StoriesPublished 6 months ago • 3 min read

Richard Pananian was a 20-year-old man from Burbank, California, who died in a freak accident on October 30, 2015. He was driving his Ford Fiesta at a high speed on the 5 Freeway when he rear-ended a pickup truck and overturned. He was ejected from his car and landed on a freeway sign, 20 feet above the ground.

His body was discovered by the authorities after they received a call about a reckless driver. The incident shocked and saddened his family and friends, who described him as a friendly, giving, and compassionate person. But what made his death even more strange and ironic was the fact that his family had performed a lamb sacrifice to protect him from evil just days before the crash.

The Lamb Sacrifice

According to his cousin, Armen Kardashian, Pananian's family was of Christian Armenian descent and followed a traditional ritual called "matagh", which involves sacrificing a lamb to show gratitude to God for saving a life.

Kardashian said that Pananian had survived a near-death experience in the past and that his family had performed the matagh on October 25, 2015, hoping to protect him from any harm.

He also said that Pananian always wore a five-point safety harness in his car, which he had installed himself. However, on the day of the crash, Pananian was not wearing his seat belt properly, and the harness did not save him from being thrown out of the car.

The Freeway Sign

The freeway sign that Pananian landed on was for Colorado Street, a major thoroughfare in Glendale, California. The sign was about 20 feet above the ground, and Pananian's body was lodged between the sign and a metal pole.

In this image, Pananian's body can be seen on the street sign wrapped in white

The authorities had to use a ladder to remove his body from the sign. The incident caused a traffic jam on the freeway, and many drivers and bystanders were shocked and horrified by the sight of the body on the sign. Some people even thought it was a Halloween prank until they realized it was a real person.

The freeway sign became a symbol of Pananian's tragic and bizarre death, and many people left flowers, candles, and messages on the sign as a tribute to him.

The Collision Center

Another ironic twist in Pananian's story was that he was on his way to his new job at the Glendale Collision Center, a car repair shop when he crashed his car. Pananian was passionate about cars and had worked as a mechanic and a salesman at various car dealerships.

Richard's body was removed from the street sign using a ladder

He had recently landed a job at the Glendale Collision Center and was looking forward to starting his first day there. However, he never made it to his destination and instead became a victim of a fatal collision himself.

The GoFundMe Page

After Pananian's death, his family and friends set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral expenses and other financial burdens. The page described Pananian as "one of the most friendly, giving, compassionate people you would ever meet". It also said that he had a bright future ahead of him and that he was loved by many people. The page also expressed the family's grief and confusion over his death and questioned God's mysterious ways.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------This Book includes carefully selected true crime stories. If you enjoy true crime stories, I believe this is an interesting read.

This is available in eBook and paperback on Amazon.

Horrific True Crime Stories Volume 1: The Most Terrifying and Unimaginable Cases from Across the Globe.