2003 — July 16, Car Collides with Car and Pedestrians, Santa Monica, CA — 10

— 10  AP (C. Lagorio). “89-Year-Old Found Guilty of Manslaughter.” CBS News, 10-20-2006.

— 10  AP (C. Lagorio). “No Jail for Elderly Driver in Market Crash.” CBS News, 11-20-2006.

— 10  Autoblog.com. “Ten Years after Tragic Crash, States no Closer to Solving…” 7-15-2013.

— 10  CNN. “Driver charged in fatal farmers’ market crash.” 1-5-2004.

— 10  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  FARS 1975-2010 Fatality Analysis.

— 10  NTSB. HAR. Rear-End Collision…Pedestrian Space…Santa Monica, CA, July 16, 2003.

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB: “Executive Summary: On July 16, 2003, about 1:46 p.m. Pacific daylight time, a 1992 Buick LeSabre, driven by an 86-year-old male, was westbound on Arizona Avenue, approaching the intersection of Fourth Street, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California. At the same time, a 2003 Mercedes Benz S430 sedan, occupied by a driver and front-seat passenger, was also westbound on Arizona Avenue and had stopped for pedestrians in a crosswalk on Fourth Street at the intersection with Arizona Avenue. The Buick struck the left rear corner of the Mercedes, continued through the intersection, and drove through a farmers’ market, striking pedestrians and vendor displays before coming to rest. As a result of the accident, 10 people were fatally injured, and 63 people received injuries ranging from minor to serious. The Buick driver and both Mercedes occupants were uninjured.

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the Buick driver to maintain control of his vehicle due to his unintended acceleration. Contributing to the severity of the accident was the lack of a barrier system to protect pedestrians in the Santa Monica Certified Farmers’ Market area from errant vehicles.

 

“The major safety issues discussed in this report are the unintended acceleration of the accident vehicle, the adequacy of temporary traffic control measures for the protection of pedestrian traffic in the Santa Monica Certified Farmers’ Market, and the need to equip motor vehicles with event data recorders.  As a result of its investigation, the Safety Board made recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the city of Santa Monica.” (NTSB. HAR. Rear-End Collision…Pedestrian Space…Santa Monica, CA, July 16, 2003.)

Media

 

Jan 5, 2004, CNN: “Los Angeles, California (CNN) — The Los Angeles district attorney’s office filed charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence Monday against the driver of a car that struck and killed 10 people and injured 63 others at a farmers’ market in Santa Monica last summer. Attorneys for George Russell Weller, 87, have been notified to surrender their client to authorities at 10:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) Tuesday, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office. Bail was recommended at $50,000….

“Santa Monica Police Chief James Butts Jr. said at a news conference in December that after a five-month investigation, authorities believe that Weller hit the gas pedal instead of the brake of his 1992 Buick LeSabre after a minor fender-bender at a nearby intersection, just before his vehicle careered three blocks through the crowded pedestrian market. The only reason his car eventually stopped, Butts said, was because a body trapped beneath the vehicle slowed it down. ‘Mr. Weller was conscious throughout the collision sequence; no evidence exists that Mr. Weller attempted to take the car out of gear; there is no indication of braking throughout the entire collision sequence,’ Butts said.

 

“Weller is charged in the deaths of Theresa Bregalia, 50, of the Bronx, New York; Brendon Esfahani, 7 months, Molok Ghoulian, 62, and Cindy Valladares, 3, all of Los Angeles; Gloria Gonzalez, 35, of Venice; Movsha Hoffman, 78, of Santa Monica; Leroy Lattier, 55, a transient; Diana McCarthy, 41, and Kevin McCarthy, 50, both of New York; and Lynne Ann Weaver, 47, of Woodland Hills.” (CNN. “Driver charged in fatal farmers’ market crash.” 1-5-2004.)

 

Oct 20, 2006: “An elderly driver who killed 10 people and injured more than 70 when his car plowed through a farmers market in Santa Monica three years ago was found guilty Friday of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. George Russell Weller, 89, was not in court to hear the verdict. He faces as much as 18 years in prison. Weller, who is frail and in poor health, attended only the trial’s opening statements.

 

“Jurors deliberated eight days before reaching the harshest verdict possible. Weller’s attorneys argued he was a victim of “pedal error,” that mistook his car’s accelerator for the brake and panicked when the vehicle raced into the open-air market on July 16, 2003. Prosecutors said he was careless to the point of criminal negligence and lacked remorse. ‘He looked at what he had done, essentially shrugged his shoulders and said ‘oops,’’ prosecutor Ann Ambrose told the jury….

 

“Weller’s 1992 Buick Le Sabre traveled about 300 yards, reaching speeds of 60 mph or more as it crashed into food stalls. It finally came to a stop after hitting a ditch, with one victim’s body tangled underneath and another’s draped across the hood….” (Associated Press (Christine Lagorio). “89-Year-Old Found Guilty of Manslaughter.” CBS News, 10-20-2006.)

 

Nov 20, 2006: “An 89-year-old man whose car hurtled through a farmers market, killing 10 people, was let off on probation Monday by a judge who said he believed the defendant deserved to go prison but was too ill….Weller, confined to a sickbed, was not in court for his sentencing. Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson said he agreed completely with the jury and called Weller’s actions callous and showing ‘an enormous indifference to human life.’….Weller could have received up to 18 years in prison, but the judge said Weller’s health problems, including severe heart disease, would make him a burden on prison authorities and taxpayers, and that imprisonment would most likely kill Weller.

 

“Defense attorneys argued that Weller was a victim of “pedal error” in which he panicked and mistook the car’s accelerator for the brake. Prosecutors said he was careless to the point of criminal negligence. The judge noted that Weller had enough control of his vehicle to avoid cars and trucks within the farmers market. ‘Mr. Weller chose to steer into the people, plowing into the crowd and literally launching bodies into the air as his car sped 2½ blocks,’ the judge said. The judge also called Weller’s apologies hollow.

 

“The district attorney’s office did not make a sentencing recommendation but cited a probation officer’s recommendation that Weller spend at least a short time in prison. ‘I believe the courts have to be practical as well as principled,’ the judge said. ‘I don’t see any purpose of sending Mr. Weller to jail or prison. It wouldn’t do anybody any good.’ Weller, a month short of his 90th birthday, was placed on five years’ felony probation. The judge also ordered him to pay about $90,000 in penalties, including fines and restitution for families of two victims. Restitution for the remainder of the victims was still being resolved….” (Associated Press (Christine Lagorio). “No Jail for Elderly Driver in Market Crash.” CBS News, 11-20-2006.)

 

Dec 9, 2010 – George Russell Weller dies at age 94: “Summary: retired salesman who gained notoriety at age 86 in 2003 as the motorist in a fatal car accident that killed 10 people and seriously injured 63 others as he drove his car through a crowded open-air marketplace in Santa Monica, California fueling a national debate in the United States on safety risks posed by elderly drivers, and who was later found guilty of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter in 2006 but was sentenced to five years’ felony probation and paid about $107,100 in fines later in life…Age: 94…Cause of Death: Complications from a heart disease…Location: Santa Monica, California.” (Heavenslie.com. “George Russell Weller.”)

 

July 15, 2013: “….[George Russell] Weller was 86 years old when he got behind the wheel of his 1992 Buick LeSabre and became responsible for one of the worst traffic accidents in U. S. history. Ten years ago, on July 16, 2003, Weller plowed through 2½ blocks of the Santa Monica, Calif., farmer’s market, killing 10 people and seriously injuring 63 others. Witnesses testified that he stared straight ahead with both hands on the steering wheel while bodies flew over the hood of his car. The accident took less than a minute, but left a mangled mess of bodies amongst the strawberries, raspberries and citrus fruits for sale that day. Among the dead included a married couple, a 3-year-old, a baby and a homeless man….

 

“…tragic incidents like George Russell Weller’s serve as stark reminders of the threats posed when some people lose motor skills and cognitive abilities….” (Autoblog.com. “Ten Years after Tragic Crash, States no Closer to Solving Elderly Driving Problems.” 7-15-2013.)

 

Source

 

Associated Press (Christine Lagorio). “89-Year-Old Found Guilty of Manslaughter.” CBS News, 10-20-2006. Accessed 10-11-2015: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/89-year-old-found-guilty-of-manslaughter/

 

Associated Press (Christine Lagorio). “No Jail for Elderly Driver in Market Crash.” CBS News, 11-20-2006. Accessed 10-11-2015: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/no-jail-for-elderly-driver-in-market-crash/

 

Autoblog.com. “Ten Years after Tragic Crash, States no Closer to Solving Elderly Driving Problems.” 7-15-2013. Accessed 10-11-2015: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/07/15/tragic-crash-elderly-driver-laws/

 

CNN. “Driver charged in fatal farmers’ market crash.” 1-5-2004. Accessed 10-11-2015 at: http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/05/farmer.market.crash/

 

Heavenslie.com. “George Russell Weller.” Accessed 10-11-2015 at: http://heavenslie.com/My%20Obits/2010/George%20Russell%20Weller.htm

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Partial Data Dump of Crashes Involving 10 or More Fatalities, by Year, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1975-2009 Final and 2010 ARF. Washington, DC: NHTSA, pdf file provided to Wayne Blanchard, 1-26-2012.

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Highway Accident Report. Rear-End Collision and Subsequent Vehicle Intrusion Into Pedestrian Space at Certified Farmers’ Market, Santa Monica, California, July 16, 2003 (NTSB HAR-04/04; NTIS PB2004-916204). Wash., DC: NTSB, adopted Aug 3, 2004, 60 pages. At: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2004/HAR0404.pdf