Weller To Stand Trial

Ten counts of vehicular homicide with gross negligence

   After a seven-day preliminary hearing, during which eyewitnesses, experts and law enforcement officers testified, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Katherine Mader ruled that George Russell Weller, 87, who drove his car into the Santa Monica Farmers Market last summer, must stand trial on ten counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for hitting and killing ten people with his car.
   On July 16, 2003, Weller drove through the crowded market, and by the time he came to a stop, ten people had been killed and 63 people had been injured.
   His lawyers argued that Weller had accidentally stepped on the accelerator rather than the brake as he approached the market, and then had panicked.
   Deputy District Attorney Ann Ambrose said that “pedal error” itself was “negligent,” and Weller had driven 1,000 feet, hitting dozens of people, ten of whom died, and done nothing to stop his car. “That is not merely a tragedy,” she said, “that is a crime.”
   Weller’s arraignment has been scheduled for November 17. If he is found guilty of all charges, he could be sentenced to 18 years in prison.
   Folllowing the ruling, Geoffrey S. Wells, who represents over 11 of the plaintiffs in their wrongful death or personal injury civil suits against the City of Santa Monica arising out of the Market tragedy, responded to it.
   "The past year and a half has been difficult on our clients, especially given the long wait that they’ve had to endure just to get to this point of having a preliminary hearing conducted against George Russell Weller. They realize that they must continue to be patient as their civil suits will be stayed until the criminal proceedings against Mr. Weller are concluded. In point of fact, the criminal case only deals with Mr. Weller’s negligence, and it remains for a civil court to determine the extent of the City of Santa Monica’s negligence and to decide whether or not the City failed to protect the public on that tragic day.
   “Our clients have taken a small measure of comfort in knowing that the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigators found that the City of Santa Monica failed to install proper traffic safety measures which would have prevented the extensive death, destruction and personal injury arising out of the July 16, 2003 Santa Monica Farmers’ Market tragedy. These findings dovetail with the position that we’ve taken in our civil pleadings that the City of Santa Monica bears responsibility for what happened. We will do everything possible on behalf of our clients to make sure that they have their day in court and that the City of Santa Monica does not try to pin this tragedy entirely on Mr. Weller."
   In addition to Wells, the plaintiffs in the wrongful death suit are represented by Brian J. Panish and Timothy J. Wheeler, all of whom are with the law firm of Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, Santa Monica.