Individuals, businesses honored for their response to farmers market accident
Almost $90,000 will be sent today to victims of the July 16 farmers market accident, officials announced Tuesday.
Each of the 10 families that suffered a death will receive $5,000. Another 15 people who were seriously injured when Santa Monica Russell Weller, 86, sped through the crowded market on Arizona Avenue, will be sent $2,500 each.
The gifts come from a fund set up by local businesses in the immediate aftermath of the accident. So far, more than $150,000 has been raised by the Victims Assistance Fund, established by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.
Community and business leaders met Tuesday for a luncheon in the penthouse room at the Four Points Sheraton on Pico Boulevard to recognize more than 40 individuals, organizations and businesses that played key roles either on July 16 or in the following weeks, as Santa Monicans struggled to return to their normal lives.
Some were local merchants who opened their doors on the day of the accident, and offered free water and the use of their telephones. Others were people who sat with the injured and dying, comforting them until rescue workers could get to them.
Many of those volunteers will remain forever nameless because they faded into the background as rescue workers took over. But not all of them.
Tina Goodfriend, a Malibu resident who runs an entertainment management firm at 1299 Ocean Ave., was standing on the corner of Arizona Avenue and the Third Street Promenade when Weller’s car sped through the market.
She said she walked through the carnage in shock, passing more than a dozen victims before she came upon Melissa Greenstein, a vacationing intensive care nurse from Vermont who was badly injured.
“It’s probably something I’ll see for the rest of my life,” Goodfriend said. “She reached up and grabbed my shirt sleeve, and pulled me face to face and said, ‘Please don’t leave me alone. Don’t let me die here alone.’”
“She reached up and grabbed my shirt sleeve, and pulled me face to face and said, ‘Please don’t leave me alone. Don’t let me die here alone.’” — — TINA GOODFRIEND Santa Monica business owner
Greenstein was struck from behind by Weller’s 1992 Buick LeSabre, rupturing her spleen, breaking her tailbone, foot, both of her hip joints and multiple ribs. Emergency workers initially tagged her as a “green” case, meaning she had the low-est priority to be moved to the triage area, which was set up on Arizona Avenue near Fourth Street.
After sitting with Greenstein for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, Goodfriend said Greenstein began repeating herself and her eyes glazed over. Goodfriend immediately grabbed a fireman and pointed out large purple bruises covering Greenstein’s back.
Goodfriend said the fireman ripped off the green and yellow triage tags, making Greenstein a “red” case, the most urgent type. Together, they carried Greenstein to the triage area where she was evaluated and taken to a nearby hospital. Had the treatment been delayed, emergency workers said Greenstein could have died on the street. The bruises, Goodfriend later learned, were a sign of internal bleeding.
Greenstein, who was flown home weeks later with an airplane ticket bought by the fund, wrote a letter Aug. 12 to the people of Santa Monica. Part of the letter, which Goodfriend read Tuesday (see page 1), says, “Life is certainly a ‘circle game.’ We cannot return to or take back what has happened. We can only look ahead now. So let us all hold on together. I know we have the fortitude to do so.”
Though she will be in a wheelchair for at least three months, Greenstein told Goodfriend in a Tuesday afternoon phone conversation that she expects to make a full recovery.
While Santa Monica continues to heal from the July 16 accident, the investigation surrounding Weller appears to be reaching its end.
According to police, he reportedly hit a Mercedes at the intersection of Fourth Street and Arizona Avenue before driving through the market. He killed 10 and injured nearly 80 people.
Authorities said the investigation would take about two months and may conclude in the next two weeks. The case is then expected to be handed over to the District Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether to file criminal charges against Weller.
A unit in the California Highway Patrol that specializes in in-depth accident investigations was requested by the Santa Monica Police Department immediately after the tragedy. The team is comprised of experts who analyze every inch of the crime scene and then attempt to recreate the incident. The team then presents its findings to the lead investigating agency, which is the SMPD.
“The investigation is ongoing and we are waiting for the report from the California Highway Patrol,” said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega.
Weller, who friends and neighbors say is extremely distraught by the accident, has remained secluded in his 25th Street home north of Montana Avenue. His drivers license was suspended shortly after the incident.
In the meantime, the fund is accepting applications from other victims until Oct. 15, at which point officials will decide what to do with the rest of the money.
A total of 14 individuals, as well as 27 businesses and organizations were honored at the Tuesday luncheon, which attracted Mayor Richard Bloom, SMPD Chief James T. Butts, Jr., Santa Monica Fire Department Chief Ettore Berardinelli and City Manager Susan McCarthy, as well as about 100 local business people.
Chief Berardinelli said he is especially proud of the response by emergency workers, who set up a top-notch triage area and transported victims to more than 20 area hospitals, some by helicopter. “Even our lifeguards came up that day to help us,” he said, adding that emergency workers “truly overwhelmed what could have been an overwhelming incident.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 10, 2003. Read the original PDF.