Seven crash victims remain in hospital care
The driver’s license of an elderly man who plowed through the farmer’s market with his car last Wednesday, killing 10 and injuring almost 80 others, has been suspended indefinitely.
The Department of Motor Vehicles suspended the license of Russell Weller, 86, on Monday, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
SMPD and the California Highway Patrol had scheduled a press conference for Tuesday to make an announcement about the continuing investigation, but police chief James T. Butts Jr. canceled it minutes before it was to begin.
“The information that they were going to release they decided not to release,” said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega. It’s unknown what the additional information is or whether or not releasing it would hinder the investigation.
One week ago today, Weller lost control of his 1992 Buick LeSabre after reportedly hitting a Mercedes at the intersection of Fourth Street and Arizona Avenue. He then plowed through the farmer’s market for more than two and a half blocks.
The result was what officials describe as the largest loss of life and the largest number of injured in a single event in the history of Santa Monica.
Weller, a longtime Santa Monica resident, told police he may have hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.
SMPD estimates that the investigation will take about six weeks to complete and then a decision will be made by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office whether to file charges against Weller.
More than 290 witnesses have been interviewed by SMPD and CHP. So far, six search warrants have been served — one at Weller’s home in the 600 block of 25th Street and five others at various businesses. Police wouldn’t say where or what those businesses are.
More than 43 people are still being sought for interviews by SMPD detectives and CHP officials, police said.
The CHP Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is inspecting Weller’s vehicle to determine any possible mechanical malfunction as part of the post-crash reconstruction.
Hundreds of pieces of evidence were collected by police last week.
Police opened the street to the public again on Thursday, after dozens of workers scrubbed and tarred over the blood and spray paint where evidence and bodies were located.
All along Arizona, from Fourth Street where Weller entered the farmer’s market to west of Second Street where the battered car finally came to rest, was littered with debris. A mangled baby stroller lay near the car, while behind it stood a wide trough of destruction that included smashed fruit, crushed bouquets of flowers, bloody gloves and towels, splintered wooden tables and green and white tents blasted askew.
Among the dead are a 3-year-old girl and a 7-month-old boy. The eight others include the infant’s grandmother, four women and three men. Nearly 50 people were taken to eight different hospitals.
Seven people still remain at two UCLA hospitals. One adult is listed in serious condition, and one child and two adults remain in fair condition at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood. At Santa Monica- UCLA Medical Center, three patients are still hospitalized. On Monday, doctors downgraded an adult from good condition to fair condition. Another adult remains in serious condition and a third adult is in fair condition.
For the victims’family and friends, and the Santa Monica community, the horrific scene of bodies flying in the air as the car plowed through the crowded market while dragging people underneath it is still etched in their minds.
Hundreds of people, including the nearly 300 emergency response workers, have sought grief counseling while family and friends of the victims attended funerals held this past weekend.
This past Saturday’s farmer’s market went on as planned although a community memorial attracted thousands downtown to remember those who lost their lives in what many people describe as a horrific tragedy for everyone involved.
As the city tries to return to normalcy, many people are asking how such a tragic accident could have happened. Some suggest the city is partly responsible for not having barricades at either end of the twice-weekly market. Others say Weller was simply too old to drive.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 23, 2003. Read the original PDF.