Elderly driver braked just before he accelerated into farmers’ market, witness testifies
LAX COURTHOUSE — Prosecutors began to lay out their case against Russell Weller on Monday, putting eyewitnesses on the stand who testified the elderly driver was fleeing from an accident when he sped through a downtown farmers’ market in July 2003.
Weller, 87, faces one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for each of the 10 victims killed in the accident. If convicted, he faces up to 18 years in prison.
A 914-page police report released last December indicated Weller mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, causing his 1992 Buick LeSabre to continue accelerating as it headed west on Arizona Avenue and smashed through a sawhorse separating vehicle traffic from the market.
That version of events was contradicted on Monday by eyewitness Tricia Robbins, who said Weller was fleeing from an accident after rear-ending a car at Fourth Street and Arizona Avenue. Robbins said Weller looked up Fourth Street before accelerating across the intersection, then veered slightly to the left and to the right, braked briefly and then sped straight into the market.
“I saw the car break the sawhorse-like barricade and I saw him just go into the market,” said Robbins, who was crossing Fourth Street on foot when the accident happened. She shouted out Weller’s license plate number to another pedestrian.
“I heard the screams travel through the market like when you’re at Dodger Stadium and you see the wave go through the crowd,” said Robbins.
Eyewitness Christopher Crain, who watched the accident from his third-floor office above Fourth Street, said after Weller rear-ended the other car he reversed his Buick slowly, paused and made a wide and deliberate turn around the other car, straightening his vehicle before he accelerated sharply. Crain testified he heard a loud crash and screams as Weller sped through the market.
WELLER, from page 1 Monday was the first day of Weller’s preliminary criminal trial, which is being heard by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Katherine Mader at the Airport Courthouse near LAX. If Judge Mader decides enough evidence exists against Weller, the case likely will go to a jury trial next year.
The preliminary trial originally was estimated to last two weeks, but testimony moved slowly on Monday, with just two of five scheduled witnesses taking the stand by midday. Prosecutors said they intend to put a total of 50 or 60 eyewitnesses and experts on the stand. Defense attorneys are expected to call another 15 people to testify, though Weller likely won’t be among them.
Weller, who walked with a cane and wore a dark blazer and tie, waived his right to be present for the rest of the preliminary trial, citing a heart condition that made it unsafe for him to be in court. He left the courthouse at a mid-morning break. To avoid news cameras waiting outside, Weller was ushered out of the building via a back route normally used for suspects being held in custody.
The criminal case against Weller is being tried by Deputy District Attorney Ann Ambrose, who was accompanied Monday by investigators from the Santa Monica Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. Four attorneys were present for Weller, including one civil attorney who sat in the courtroom taking notes. Dozens of crash victims also have filed civil lawsuits against Weller and the city of Santa Monica, which, attorneys argue, should have known such an accident could occur and could’ve taken measures to prevent it.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 26, 2004. Read the original PDF.