> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Latest market crash doesn’t faze locals - URL: https://www.smdp.com/latest-market-crash-doesnt-faze-locals/ - Published: 2007-08-09T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T00:34:41.000Z - Author: Kevin Herrera - Tags: Business, Downtown, #archive-import *Standing on firm ground* DOWNTOWN Shoppers and vendors at the Wednesday Farmers’ Market here weren’t overly concerned about their safety while walking around the outdoor marketplace, just days after a 79-year-old man drove his mini-van through a similar set-up in Fullerton. “I never even think about it,” said Garrick Ebbins, a Venice resident who loaded up on fruits and fresh vegetables. “I think there are enough people stationed at each entrance and cars parked to block off the street, so I really don’t see a need for concern.” Michelle Lustig said the only thing she was worried about was keeping track of her three daughters. “I’m not worried about traffic,” Lustig said, her daughters by her side. “I’m more worried about them running off.” Last Thursday in Fullerton, Wade Houston Jr. drove through the market’s wooden barricades, striking a fruit stand and hitting a city van so hard that it spun almost completely around, according to city officials in Fullerton. The mini-van then bounced off and slammed into a light pole, where it came to a stop. While no one was injured, the accident brought back memories of the deadly Farmers’ Market crash in Santa Monica that claimed the lives of 10 people and injured more than 60 others in July 2003. In that incident, George Russell Weller, who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to five years probation in November 2006, drove his Buick LeSabre through barricades on Arizona Avenue before ramming into booths and bodies, not stopping until a woman became trapped under his vehicle, acting as a human brake. In both the Fullerton and Santa Monica crashes, authorities said they were using an approved traffic management plan that detailed which streets should be closed and how that should be done. Santa Monica changed its plan following the 2003 crash, according to Laura Avery, the market’s supervisor. Instead of just using wooden or plastic barricades, police vehicles and large trucks are parked at all street entrances to the open-air marketplace. The downtown market, held each Wednesday and Saturday, is the only one which takes place in the middle of city streets. Farmers’ markets staged at Virginia Avenue Park on Saturdays and on Main Street on Sundays take place in parking lots that are blocked off with barricades. Parking attendants are used to direct traffic. “The plan we have (for the downtown market) was improved by a traffic engineer,” Avery said. “It’s perfectly adequate. It was an acceptable traffic plan then and I’m sure it remains an acceptable traffic plan now.” Fullerton, which reviewed its traffic management plan in light of the Weller accident, does not require cars be parked at entrances, but does so anyway as an extra precaution, said Joe Felz, director of parks and recreation for Fullerton. The reason why Houston was able to drive into the Fullerton market was because one of the cars used as a barricade had yet to arrive, Felz said. “The barricades we use are primarily wood with plastic or metal framing, which are standard, but frankly, they are not enough to stop someone (in a car) if they want to get through,” Felz said, explaining why the city parks cars at entrances for added safety.“We are looking at other options, investigating what other things we could place there in lieu of vehicles. Some have suggested removable bollards or concrete walls on wheels that can be towed in and out.” For the time-being, most people along Arizona Avenue feel safe with the parked cars serving as barriers. “The city is really good about having the police cars out here early,” said walnut vendor Duke Richardson, of Rancho Laviña. “Whenever I come to set up, they’re always there, ready to let me in. I feel pretty safe.” Still, there are those who would like to see if the situation could be improved, given the fact that a driver who is traveling at a high rate of speed could ram a car and keep going or send that parked car spinning, such as in the case of the Fullerton accident. “It’s always good to keep looking for ways to improve,” said Teresa Brooks, who was shopping Wednesday with her young son and infant daughter. “I think what we have now is good — definitely an improvement of what was here before — but I don’t think it’s the best we could do. “No one thought that someone would drive through the market, until it happened.What else aren’t we thinking about?” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/080907-03_01.jpg) SMDP officer Adam Gwartz (above) shows off the Air Support Helicopter in front of City Hall during the National Night Out festivities on Tuesday. (Photo: Photos by Fabian Lewkowicz) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 9, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/080907.pdf?ref=smdp.com)