Farmers’ Market victims say protective barriers should have been used
CITY HALL — Victims of the July 16 Farmers’ Market crash gathered here on Wednesday morning to demand the city pay for the carnage caused by elderly driver Russell Weller.
“My brother loved Santa Monica... but the place that he loved, he also died here,” said Dolores Kesse, whose brother Leroy Lattier was struck and killed when Weller sped through the market. “This is an accident — a major, catastrophic accident that could have been prevented.”
Also speaking was Bertha Lattier, Leroy’s mother; David Gong, whose sister Diana was killed and father Benny injured; Ilona Lettrich, whose finger was torn off and ankle battered; Dina Richter, whose elbow and shoulder was broken and hip displaced; and Frank McCarthy, whose brother Kevin was killed in the afternoon accident.
The mid-morning press conference was staged by lawyers from Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, LLP, a Santa Monica law firm that on Wednesday filed 10 claims against City Hall seeking compensation for victims. Lawyers said the city is responsible for the crash because it should have erected a protective barrier at the ends of the market.
“You’d think that’d be a good idea to put up on Arizona Avenue when you invite 10,000 people,” attorney Geoff Wells said. “There’s nothing there to prevent that from happening.”
Wells said removable metal “bollards” similar to what’s at intersections on the Third Street Promenade should have been set up at the market, instead of wooden sawhorses. He called the accident, which left 10 dead and 63 injured, “totally avoidable” and said City Hall failed to take “necessary, simple, reasonable safety measures.”
In a prepared statement, Wells and partner Brian Panish said City Hall’s conduct was egregious and the city should therefore bear total responsibility for the crash. City Hall either knew or should have known about elderly and other confused motorists driving into the market in the past through the alleyways that run parallel to the Third Street Promenade, Wells said. And Weller should be considered another victim of the crash, he added, because there were no signs warning drivers they were approaching a closed-off area.
Deputy City Attorney Jeanette Schachtner, who is handling the claims for City Hall, said the protective barriers used at the Promenade wouldn’t have stopped Weller, who reportedly entered the market gaining speeds of up to 60 mph. What’s more, using bollards would slow emergency vehicles, she said, adding that on the Promenade ambulances and fire trucks are able to drive around the bollards onto the sidewalk.
“People at the Farmers’ Market are in far less danger than any of us who cross the street,” Schachtner said. “We all have to hope that motorists will obey the law.”
Wells said most metal bollards are designed to sustain the impact of a vehicle traveling 20 to 30 mph. City Hall officials reiterated that the Promenade bollards wouldn’t have stopped Weller’s 1992 Buick LeSabre.
“They’re not solid stainless steel,” City Councilman Bob Holbrook said. “They’re hollow. He would have shaved them off just like he was shearing a beard with a razor.”
With Wednesday’s filings, claims against City Hall now total 48. Schachtner said the city plans to reject all the claims against it because it doesn’t feel it’s responsible for the accident. Once a claim is rejected, lawyers are able to file formal lawsuits in Superior Court.
The claims filed Wednesday didn’t list a specific amount of money. Wells said it was too soon to say how much in damages they will seek from City Hall and the Bayside District Corp., a nonprofit also being targeted because it manages downtown and may have been responsible for safety and security.
Though City Hall indemnifies Bayside — meaning it would likely be responsible for any cash judgment — Wells said the two entities potentially represent two different pools of money because they have separate insurance coverage. City Hall must pay the first $1 million of any judgment and the second $1 million is covered by a pool of California municipalities. After that, City Hall’s insurance policy covers up to $20 million.
But that may be only a portion of what’s at stake if City Hall is found liable for the crash. Tens of millions of dollars have been awarded in various wrongful death suits in recent years and often that amount is higher when an individual is seriously injured and requires a lifetime of intensive care or nursing.
Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, with offices atop the tower at Ocean Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, won the largest product liability suit in history — $4.9 billion in 1999 against General Motors for a defective engine — and has won numerous cases worth millions of dollars. And they’re not alone in the civil arena. West L.A.-based attorney Michael Piuze also is representing a handful of victims and has filed claims against the city. Piuze got the largest single-person jury award of all time, $28 billion against Phillip Morris for a cancer victim in 2002.
An unexpected speaker took center stage briefly during Wednesday’s press conference. Halil Parlar, a local resident and peach vendor at the Farmers’ Market, walked in front of about a dozen news cameras and several reporters and told the Lattiers that he was a witness to Leroy Lattier’s death.
Parlar, 72, said he had gathered signatures from more than 700 people — residents, shoppers, vendors, even council members, he said — demanding some type of barricade be erected. He pointed to the Santa Monica Pier, where pedestrians aren’t protected from motorists, and said something needs to be done.
Asked if City Hall or Weller should be liable for the crash, Parlar replied, “both.”
While civil suits surrounding the crash gather momentum, Weller, 87, pleaded not guilty last week to 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, a felony. Piuze has said the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office might have pushed for those charges because, if Weller is found guilty, it could be used to protect City Hall.
But victims on Wednesday said they weren’t interested in behind-the-scenes maneuverings. They said they simply wanted to make sure no one else is hurt.
“It’s been a hard couple of months,” said Gong, whose sister and brother-in-law had moved from New York a year earlier to pursue their careers as independent film-makers. “It’s been difficult adjusting... I have a lot of mixed feelings about all that’s happened. But it comes down to responsibility.”
“I have a lot of mixed feelings about all that’s happened. But it comes down to responsibility.” — — DAVID GONG Relative of victims
Richter, a former marathon runner and swimmer who leaned on a cane as she spoke, agreed.
“I guess I’m one of the fortunate people,” said Richter, an English teacher at Hamilton High School in LA “I was at the Farmers’ Market and I did not lose my life. However, the last six months have been very difficult for me. We should do everything we possibly can to make sure this never happens again.
“If that means (suing) the city — so be it.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 15, 2004. Read the original PDF.