Road home to Massachusetts has been long, painful ordeal
By LEE RAJSICH Special to the Daily Press
Lynne Carter, 70, and her husband, Lacey, 84, have been visiting Santa Monica for years. But they never intended to remain for more than seven months.
The Massachusetts couple were among the 80 people injured in the Farmers Market accident of July 16, and have been unable to travel as a result. In the mean-time, they have been in and out of hospitals, rehabilitation centers and assisted-living facilities. Most recently, they have been staying at the Westwood Plaza Retirement Hotel at 2228 Westwood Blvd., but have to leave today. They are left without a place to stay and no real means of getting back to their hometown of Province.
The two are hopeful that someone locally will be able to lend a helping hand and provide accommodations for them, but so far they haven’t found anyone.
“We’re not picky, we’ll take anything we can get,” said Lynne Carter, who was not directly struck by the Buick Le Sabre driven by 86-year-old Russell Weller, that crashed into the bustling marketplace that fateful summer day. Lynne Carter sustained minor injuries diving out of the way of the approaching car, and continues to struggle with an impaired left hand today.
Between the two, Lacey Carter suffered the more serious injuries, as Weller’s car unsuspectedly struck him from behind, leaving him with leg and breathing injuries. He’s confined to a wheelchair.
“I’m not sure whether it will be one month or a couple of months,” said Lynne Carter on Friday.
“The healing has been very slow.” The couple has been under the medical care and counsel of Dr. Linda Behar, the program manager at WISE Senior Services at 1527 Fourth St. Behar has been an enormous help, according to Lynne Carter. Lacey Carter is just now beginning to walk again.
Along with help from a daughter in South Dakota, the couple has been paying for medical care with funds from Social Security and the Farmers Market Victim’s Assistance Fund, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation created by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.
Lynne and Lacey Carter arrived in Santa Monica for an extended vacation in March, staying at the Hi-Santa Monica Hostel at 1436 Second St. They were scheduled to return to Massachusetts the day after the accident.
“I wanted some tangerines,” said Lynne Carter, a lover of outdoor markets.
With just 20 minutes remaining before the market was scheduled to close, the Carters headed over from their hostel in search of some fruit. They were separated from each other by about five stands when Weller’s car came crashing through the marketplace. Lynne Carter recalls first hearing the collapsing of market stands. Then she began to hear the screams.
Turning around, Lynne Carter faced where her husband had been standing, only to see a speeding car coming directly towards her.
Her first instinct told her to run away from the car, but she opted to dive out of its way and under a nearby table.
“I knew I couldn’t outrun him,” recalls Lynne Carter. “I knew it wasn’t a good thing to do.”
Lacey Carter, unfortunately, didn’t have the liberty of making any decisions. Weller’s car struck him from behind, knocking him unconscious instantly.
When medics arrived, the two were rushed to the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center. For the next 18 days, while Lacey Carter remained in ICU, Lynne Carter slept on a couch in the hospital’s waiting room.
Neither Lynne nor Lacey Carter, both retired social workers, hold Weller entirely responsible for the accident. They feel the city of Santa Monica should shoulder much of the responsibilty for not providing adequate barricades.
“There should be barriers and detours for traffic or the market should be relocated,” said Lacey Carter.
Since the accident, Lynne Carter has actually returned to the market on several occasions.
“A lot of the trauma was gone,” she said Friday, “but I still look around all the time.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 1, 2003. Read the original PDF.