By Julia Reeves Santa Monica
(Michael Tittinger’s) column and tribute to those who perished in the Farmers’ Market tragedy on July 16, 2003 tugged at my heartstrings, and brought tears to my eyes (“Memorials aren’t just for war vets,” Nov. 28). Remembering each of them by name as he did, was a good “temporary fix.”
All they did was venture out to the Farmers’ Market that day, and they unexpectedly met their demise at the hands of Russell Weller, who plowed them all down with his car. One cannot imagine what was going on in his mind as he struck down one after the other. To have one’s life snuffed out like that was horrific, but, to be the perpetrator and cause of this deadly accident so late in one’s life — knowing one’s sole responsibility — must be a fate worse than death.
What a way to come to the end of the road, having to live one’s final days in the shroud of darkness.
Thank you for your memorial to those who lost their lives.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 1, 2007. Read the original PDF.