Investigation Into Market Crash Continues

James Allardice
Mirror staff writer
  
   The investigation into last week’s Farmers Market crash continued this week, with Santa Monica Police Department and California Highway Patrol officers interviewing witnesses and collecting and assessing evidence.
   SMPD and CHP officials expect the investigation to last six weeks. A decision whether to file charges against Russell Weller, the 86-year-old man who drove his 1992 Buick through the busy market on Arizona Avenue will be made at the conclusion of the investigation.
   A joint press conference between SMPD Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. and CHP officials was called for Tuesday, July 22, at 4 p.m. However, minutes before it was to get underway, it was cancelled and a statement was released.
   According to the statement, over 290 witnesses have been interviewed and 43 more people are being sought for interviews. Investigators have served six search warrants thus far.
   At 1:47 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, a car traveling west on Arizona Avenue, crossed Fourth Street, plowed through the eastern entrance of the Farmers Market, and drove through the market, hitting people and farmers’ booths, before coming to a stop on Arizona just west of Second Street.
   On surveying the scene, Butts said, “It’s the most horrific accident scene I’ve ever seen in 30 years of law enforcement.”
   According to reports, Weller had just left the Post Office at Fifth and Arizona and headed west on Arizona, when he crossed Fourth Street and drove into the market. Witnesses said Weller was driving at “highway speeds” as his car careened through the Market.
   “His statement is, he possibly hit the gas instead of the brake,” Butts said last week. “He said he tried to brake and he couldn’t stop the vehicle.”
   Ten people, including a three-year-old girl and a seven-month old boy, were killed. (see related story, this page). According to SMPD, 69 others were injured in the crash. A number of critically injured victims were evacuated to area hospitals by helicopters, which landed on and took off from Wilshire Boulevard at Fourth Street (see related story, page 10).
   In addition to Santa Monica Police officers, fire fighters and paramedics who were at the scene within two minutes, Los Angeles City and County Fire Department personnel also responded to the call. After emergency crews had transported all the injured to area hospitals, the California Highway Patrol was brought in and the accident scene became a crime scene. All told, over 275 public safety and emergency personnel responded to the scene.
   Weller was taken into custody shortly after the accident, taken to a hospital where he was given a blood test and questioned by police. There were no traces of drugs or alcohol in Weller’s system. Later that day, he was released, and police have not indicated whether they will pursue criminal charges against him. Last week, Butts said Weller could be charged with “manslaughter of some kind,” adding, “There may be some negligence as to his capacity to drive safely.”
   SMPD and CHP are investigating the possibility that Weller collided with a Mercedes just prior to barreling through the Farmers Market.
   “We’re trying to do two things: determine first of all that he hit the Mercedes, and two, what his motivation was for leaving if he did hit it,” California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall said. “He could have been confused. He could have been scared and tried to get away. We just don’t know at this point.”
   Like Weller’s Buick sedan, the Mercedes has been impounded and is being examined, Marshall said. The CHP Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is inspecting Weller’s vehicle.
   Weller’s friends and neighbors spoke of the longtime resident with affection and respect and said he was an active community member and a sometime volunteer tutor at Santa Monica High School.
   According to the Santa Monica Police, Weller had hit his own garage door at least twice, and video of the elderly man crashing the same Buick into a retaining wall surfaced.
   The video shows Weller hitting a three-foot retaining wall while arriving at a party 10 years ago. No one was hurt in the accident.
   Weller had a valid drivers license, which was automatically renewed three years ago. On July 17, the Santa Monica Police Department asked the DMV to suspend Weller’s license. On Monday, July 21, the DMV granted SMPD’s request.
   Weller released a statement through his pastor, Rev. Stephen C. Lien of the Brentwood Presbyterian Church on Saturday. (see box, page 1).
   According to the coroner’s office, eight people died at the scene. A ninth person died shortly thereafter, and Thursday afternoon it was announced that a 7-month-old boy had died, bringing the death toll to 10.
   At the Saturday Farmers’ Market, a memorial service was led by clergy of all faiths and City officials. (See related story, page 2). At today’s market, farmers and shoppers observed a moment of silence at 1:47 p.m. the time of tragedy.