At an age when 67-year-old Behrooz Yazdanian could have been collecting Social Security, his niece says he insisted on earning a paycheck as a greeter at the retail store.
"We told him not to go to work anymore... stay home... retire. He just wanted to work,” Ana Askari said, “He loved working and he was never tired."
But the senior's life came to a screeching halt at 6:45 Thursday morning as he was crossing York Road at Industry Lane on his way to work.
See also: Pedestrian killed in deadly York Road crash identified
"As he crossed the street, he was struck by a Ford Escape that had been traveling northbound on York Road,” Cpl. John Wachter of the Baltimore County Police Department, said. “Very tragically, he was declared deceased at the scene."
Yazdanian had migrated to the U.S. from Iran a decade ago hoping to provide a better future for his son.
He is also survived by a wife, a brother and several nieces and nephews.
"He loved all of us. He never asked for help,” Askari said. “We kept offering him... everybody... his car broke down, so we kept asking him to let us give him a ride to work. He was so proud that he didn't want anyone's help. So I don't know."
The high volume of traffic on York Road certainly would have made this one of the most challenging parts of Yazdanian's three-mile walk to and from work each day.
"That's a sad story. It's a tough way to get out of here,” said Jeff Webber, who works at a car dealership near the accident scene. “A lot of pedestrians do cross here so it's very sad... especially for the holiday."
It was a journey made even more perilous each day since he underwent a major operation.
"He had brain surgery and he had to walk with a cane after the brain surgery,” Askari said. “So with a cane, he was walking that distance."
The driver of the Ford Escape did stop after hitting the victim.
The crash is still under investigation.
