Cops keep eye on Weller’s car
Elderly driver Russell Weller will stand trial before a judge this August, more than a year after the Farmers’ Market crash that left ten people dead and dozens more injured, officials decided Friday.
Weller, now 87, is not expected to testify in the preliminary trial. If a judge rules there is enough evidence to proceed, the case likely will be tried before a jury.
Prosecutors levied 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence against Weller in January, saying he should have stopped before driving through the crowded market on July 16. Defense lawyers countered the accident was tragic, but not criminal.
“We’ve now had an opportunity to review all the evidence that the DA’s going to present and there’s nothing in there that changes our mind from before,” said Mark Overland, who is representing Weller alongside local attorney Jim Bianco.
If convicted on all counts, Weller could face up to 18 years in prison. Boris Hoffman, 49, whose father died and whose mother suffered extensive injuries in the afternoon accident, said he hopes Weller will serve time behind bars for the fatal crash.
“Weller should be punished,” said Hoffman, whose parents celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary three days before the crash. “People are worried about him not sleeping well. I don’t care. My dad and the rest of the nine people — they are sleeping fine.”
“People are worried about him not sleeping well. I don’t care. My dad and the rest of the nine people — they are sleeping fine.” — — BORIS HOFFMAN Son of crash victims
Hoffman said his mother, who was hospitalized for several months following the accident, will never regain full use of her left arm. She underwent a skin graft, had a steel rod installed in her shoulder and suffered from several broken bones.
“She’s coming in and out,” Hoffman said Friday. “It has been very hard on her. She is still suffering from her own injuries and she is missing my dad. It is very hard.
“Only the people who have had the experience can know and can really understand it.”
Lawyers will meet again in court next month to work out various housekeeping issues, including where and when a detailed investigation of Weller’s car — a 1992 Buick LeSabre — can take place. The Santa Monica Police Department currently has the car, according to Bianco.
Weller, meanwhile, has been hospitalized three times since the July 16 crash. He had a pacemaker installed, but then needed to have it removed due to infection. His lawyers contend he suffers from second-degree heart block, a condition that can cause dizziness and faintness.
“He’s still in very, very poor health,” Bianco said Friday. “He’s still grappling with his health condition. It’s a degenerative condition and he still needs a pacemaker, and he’s still without a pacemaker because of the problems with the past pacemaker.”
While the criminal trial against Weller moves forward, dozens of civil lawsuits have been levied against the city of Santa Monica for failing to erect barricades along the boundaries of the market. Top litigators are working on the case, which should proceed once the criminal matter is resolved. They also are looking into whether faulty machinery played a role in the incident.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 27, 2004. Read the original PDF.