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July Farmers’ Market Crash Investigation Nears Completion
Clara Sturak
Associate editor
More than three months after George Russell Weller, 86, drove his 1992 Buick through the crowded Santa Monica Farmers’ Market on Arizona Avenue, killing 10 people and injuring dozens of others, the Santa Monica Police Department and California Highway Patrol are concluding their investigations.
After weeks of silence regarding the Santa Monica police investigation, SMPD Public Information Officer, Frank Fabrega, gave the following statement to the Mirror:
“On November 20, 2003, the Chief of Police and members of the SMPD Investigative Bureau were provided with a briefing by the California Highway Patrol of their as-yet-incomplete investigation related to the Farmers’ Market incident. We anticipate receiving the report in its final form in five to seven days. This report will be examined and reviewed by Santa Monica Police Department detectives.”
The SMPD is in the final stages of writing its own report following months of investigation, said Fabrega.
Once both reports have been reviewed and finalized, SMPD will submit them to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office, which will then determine whether to prosecute Weller for murder, manslaughter, or a lesser charge – or whether to go forward at all – depending in great part on the evidence provided in the reports.
Several weeks ago, the Santa Monica City Attorney’s office rejected claims for financial damages from 18 victims of the crash, stating that the City had “taken every safety measure that it could” and was not at fault in the incident. |
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