> ## 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.

# Market crash fund for victims spreads financial assistance
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/market-crash-fund-for-victims-spreads-financial-assistance/
- Published: 2003-08-05T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:40:19.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Committee members handle individual cases*

The fund established to help victims of the July 16 Farmers Market crash is about to reach the $100,000 mark.

In less than three weeks, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce has been able to raise tens of thousands from the community to financially assist victims and their families in the short term.

The fund was set up within 24 hours after the accident that claimed the lives of 10 and injured close to 80 people when Santa Monica resident Russell Weller, 86, drove through the busy Farmers Market on Arizona Avenue.

Chamber members immediately formed an ad hoc board and executive committee so they could begin administering aid to the victims and their families. For the past three weeks, board members have been meeting once a week to establish procedures on how to administer the money. An executive committee made up of five members, charged with distributing the money, checks in with each other on a daily basis.

But the victims fund isn’t just raising money, it’s also soliciting resources from area companies to donate their services.

Executive committee members also are handling individual cases. They have been coordinating with agencies and transportation companies to help victims and their families with travel arrangements and funeral plans for the deceased who have not yet been transported to their hometowns.

Executive committee members have arranged those travel plans with funeral homes, the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office and various airlines.

“We all take the role of picking up the phone and networking,” said Nat Trives, chair of the victims’ fund board and the executive committee. “Finding the resources and pooling them together is the critical piece.”

> “We all take the role of picking up the phone and networking. Finding the resources and pooling them together is the critical piece.” — — NAT TRIVES Chair of victims’ fund board and executive committee

There are currently three active cases that are being handled by the executive committee, but more are expected this week. Those cases include a woman whose body will be flown to New Jersey this week. The fund has paid the $200 coroner’s fee and has arranged with an airline to have her body flown to her family, who can’t afford the transport. The body of another victim, who lived in Venice, will be flown to Mexico.

A woman who was on vacation in Santa Monica during the accident and was severely injured will be flown to her home in Vermont. (See related story).

Tom Larmore, a local attorney and a member of the executive committee, said the 15-member board will be asked today to approve the $2,500 plane ticket.

He said not much money has been dispersed yet because the cases are still in the initial phases.

“We are more in the process of working on them right now,” he said. “We will try to arrange the services we need so we don’t have to pay for them.”

> “We are more in the process of working on them right now. We will try to arrange the services we need so we don’t have to pay for them.” — — TOM LARMORE Victims’ fund board member

Two women who came to Santa Monica to assist their relative who was severely injured didn’t have transportation here. But executive committee members were able to coordinate with Yellow Cab to donate $500 worth of cab fares for the woman.

The victims’fund board is comprised of a cross section of the community, including pastors, rabbis, lawyers, accountants, business owners and bankers.

“We’re looking for 100 percent pass through,” Trives said. “Anyone who wants to play with us has to do it pro bono.

“I’m just so happy to be involved and that we are smart enough to get it done,” he added.

Because the fund and the process has never been established before, committee members are making up the rules as they go. Within a day of the accident, board members immediately sat down and discussed how the process would work. They applied for non-profit status so donations can be tax exempt and then they began raising money.

“We had $30,000 or $40,000 out of the gates,” Trives said. “The response has been great and I’m not surprised, this is what Santa Monica is all about... this money is coming from people’s hearts.”

Victims should first file a police report with the California Highway Patrol, the lead investigator in the accident, before submitting a claim to the chamber. An application form is required to be filled out that asks about the person’s level of injury and his or her financial status.

“It’s not just a flat fee they get,” Trives said. “In order to be a non profit, we can’t just hand out money.

“They have to show us bonified proof and we are going to talk to them about their assets and their insurance,” he added.

And while there are only a few active cases currently, Trives thinks the requests for financial help will increase in the coming weeks.

“I think it is going to start snowballing because when people get back to reality and start getting bills, they’ll come to us,” he said.

The chamber is still accepting donations, said executive director Kathy Dodson. (See donation information, this page.) On Monday, a $5,000 pledge was made by actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, Dodson said. She added that most of the contributions have come from Santa Monica-based companies and local residents.

Business owners are being asked to donate a portion of their sales to the fund, like Wild Oats, Whole Foods and Bracken Jewelers have done. (See donation information, this page.) Larmore said the board members don’t know who the victims are and are asking that they contact the chamber to get the process started in assisting them. They are asked to call (310) 393-9825, ext. 10, after they have filed a police report.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 5, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/080503.pdf?ref=smdp.com)