Elderly Driver’s Day in Court Set

By Blair Clarkson
Staff Writer

July 8 -- While events marking last July’s Farmers Market tragedy will be held Downtown next week, the elderly driver who left ten dead and more than 60 injured will not see his day in court for another three months.

The first step toward deciding 87-year-old George Russell Weller’s fate will take place during a preliminary hearing at the Airport Courthouse on October 12.

That’s when the District Attorney's office is expected to present evidence showing Weller was in full control of his 1992 Buick LeSabre as it barreled nearly 1,000 feet through the crowded market.

"We feel the evidence will show that it was not an accident," said Sandi Gibbons, public information officer for the DA's office.

After the defense cross-examines the prosecution's data, the judge will determine whether there is probable cause to take the matter to trial -- an event with no set timetable.

"The preliminary hearing is just the first step in a long process," Gibbons said.

Weller is charged with ten counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and could face up to 18 years in state prison if he is found guilty on all counts, according to Deputy DA Ann Rundle.

"We have reviewed the CHP investigation and the SMPD investigation and we feel that his behavior warrants criminal charges," she said.

The City and Bayside District have also been named in separate suits for failing to install adequate barricades on either end of Arizona -- similar to those along the Promenade -- which would have kept Weller from entering the market.

Much of the evidence against Weller is contained within a nearly 1,000-page CHP report, which includes more than 300 witness statements, various police and law enforcement reports, crime scene recreations, details of Weller's medical history and his complete driving record.

Lawyers representing the City and victims of the tragedy have been trying since January to obtain the investigation report, but sections have been deleted or withheld pending the start of the criminal case.

Although Weller's attorney would offer no comments on the charges against his client prior to the hearing except to say it was "an accident," the longtime Santa Monica resident's medical condition will likely be a central focus of debate.

Following his arraignment in January, at which Weller pleaded not guilty to the charges, attorney Jim Bianco said that an undiagnosed heart condition that stopped Weller's heart for several seconds caused him to lose control of the car prior to the crash.

Weller has also claimed that he had mistaken the gas pedal for the brake.

Bianco has conceded that Weller was responsible for the deaths, but insisted it was an accident and should have been tried as a civil case.

Prosecutors countered that Weller was alert and in control as he recklessly ignored road closure signs and smashed through booths and people before finally coming to a stop with a body on top of his battered car and another pinned underneath.

As the one-year anniversary of the July 16 disaster approaches, visitors and
well-wishers are expected to descend upon the downtown market next week to
pay respects to the ten people who lost their lives that day: Gloria Gonzales, 35; Movsha Hoffman, 73; Leroy Lattier, 55; Diana McCarthy, 41, and her husband Kevin McCarthy, 50; Lynne Ann Weaver, 47; Theresa Breglia, 50; Cindy Palacios Valladares, 3; Molok Ghoulian, 62; and Brendon Esfahani, 7 months.

While the City has no formal memorials planned, the Interfaith Council and Westside Food Bank will coordinate a non-perishable food drive on the Promenade in lieu of flowers or candles from Wednesday, July 14 through
Saturday, July 17.

When the Wednesday market opens at 9 a.m. on the 14th there will be a moment of quiet reflection and remembrance on the corner of Third and Arizona.