Report lays blame on City Hall for not erecting barriers
WASHINGTON — Russell Weller’s deadly drive through downtown Santa Monica last summer was an accident, but it wasn’t prompted by ill health or prescription drugs, according to a preliminary report released this week by federal investigators.
The findings by the National Transportation Safety Board apparently contradict earlier reports that led prosecutors to charge Weller, 87, with 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter, with gross negligence. Weller is expected to face those charges in a lengthy preliminary trial starting Oct. 12.
After six months of investigation, authorities determined the accident was caused by Weller traveling at an unsafe speed, a violation of California penal code. Police also cited Weller’s reduced mobility as a contributing factor in the fatal accident.
Jim Bianco, one of Weller’s three criminal defense attorneys, said Wednesday the NTSB findings lend further credence to his client’s innocence.
“This was a terrible, tragic accident,” said Bianco, adding he hasn’t seen the full NTSB report, which officials expect will be released in coming weeks. “We hope that the District Attorney’s Office will finally agree with us that this case does not belong in the criminal court.”
Weller mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake outside of the market, colliding with a Mercedes sedan at the intersection of Arizona Avenue and Fourth Street before careening into the market, according to the report. Weller’s stress level increased as he drove through the market, and he most likely “pumped” the gas pedal in a habitual braking response, causing the car to accelerate, the report says.
In a letter to the NTSB, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ann Rundle, the lead prosecutor, pointed out that the report was not an analysis of criminal liability. Still, Rundle noted that “the report is incomplete in that it omits material witness statements which conflict with the report’s conclusion. Also, it does not reflect evidence which directly refutes the driver’s version of events.”
Either way, the NTSB report will not be admissible in a criminal trial against Weller, lawyers said, though expert witnesses will be able to consult it before testifying in front of a jury.
While criminal lawyers continue to grapple with the details surrounding Weller’s fateful drive down Arizona Avenue, which left 10 dead and 63 injured, dozens of civil lawsuits have been filed against Weller and the city of Santa Monica. Victims of the crash argue City Hall should have known to erect barriers that would’ve prevented vehicles such as Weller’s 1992 Buick LeSabre from entering the market.
The NTSB findings apparently support those claims. Among safety recommendations put forward in the preliminary report were for City Hall to construct a “temporary rigid barrier system” at the market’s ends, and to update traffic plans annually dealing with road closures. On Wednesday, the market end on Fourth Street, where Weller entered, was protected by a truck parked across the street, a sawhorse and three prominent “road closed” signs.
While some see the added precautions as an admission of liability, attorneys at City Hall have maintained city officials had no way of foreseeing the tragic accident. And while NTSB investigators determined the city was out of compliance with laws governing how to mark closed roads, it also acknowledged the guidelines weren’t clear and needed revision.
Meanwhile, criminal lawyers upset over a Santa Monica judge’s decision to release portions of a 914-page police report compiled after the crash successfully convinced an appeals court this week to issue a temporary stay in all civil proceedings. That means the report will stay sealed for the time being, and victims hoping to move their cases forward may have to wait until after Weller’s criminal trial is over.
Geoffrey Wells, who represents a dozen victims, said he expected the delay, as proceedings are beginning to heat up in the criminal arena. As to the preliminary report from the NTSB, Wells said the findings likely will bolster his clients’ claims.
“I think it will help in the civil cases, because they’re another independent governmental agency,” Wells said. “They’re not aligned with us, they’re not aligned with the city, and they’ve gone in there and looked at this, and said they think there’s a problem.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 5, 2004. Read the original PDF.