Arie Orchanian and Anie Manoushagian, the victims of a car accident after a family member’s funeral, were remembered by members of the church that they attended for years.
At Saturday’s service, Pastor Aram Bedrossian of the Armenian Memorial Church in Watertown, said Arie Orchanian, 32, and his aunt Anie Manoushagian, 80, had been members of the congregation for decades.
“[Orchanian] was a pure man and a good man,” Bedrossian said, according to the report by WCVB Channel 5. “He always wanted to do the good thing. We saw him as a future pillar or leader of the church. Him and his brother were best friends, but now his brother is going to carry that.”
They had attended the burial of an 89-year-old family member on Dec. 23, and as they were heading back to the church for a memorial dinner their car collided with another vehicle on Bigelow Avenue, killing them both.
The family is well known in the community. Orchanian’s mother worked at a nearby school, according to NBC 10 Boston.
“This family has just been a light to the community for so many years and also back in Lebanon and Syria and places like this and the roots go deep and everyone is just rallying around them,” said Bedrossian, NBC 1o reported.
The cause of the accident has not been released by law enforcement or the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.
Cries of ” Delicious Delicious ” would be heard most days in E. Watertown’s Armenian streets coming from an old Chevy Suburban whose interior was removed and replaced with wooden boxes housing fresh fruits and veggies that the old Orchanian man would sell from the back of the SUV back in the 70’s . The Good Old Days !
Thanks for that memory, Gregory. He occasionally made his way over to Franklin St as well. I seem to remember the watermelon being particularly good.
Charlie, a question two weeks after this shocking, profoundly tragic accident:
When is a formal report expected to be available?
From the extensive vehicle damage shown in aerial news photos, the Tesla was traveling at excessive speed and smashed just about head-on into the side of this family’s car. Seems that either this Tesla accelerated lightning fast on its own, or a dangerous driver may be behind the wheel of another car now. The public deserves to know which it is.
Thank you,
Libby Shaw
That’s a good question. The investigation is now under the State Police. I am not sure how long it takes them to decide on the cause of a crash and if there will be any charges. I will be following up when the news is released.
There was an unsigned comment asking about any charges to the driver in the crash. The case is being investigated by the State Police. From what I can tell these can take a while. There is a press release on the Middlesex District Attorney’s site about a fatal crash in Lowell in August where charges were brought in December. https://www.middlesexda.com/press-releases/news/man-charged-murder-connection-august-fatal-hit-and-run-lowell
I will keep an eye out for anything new on the crash in Watertown.