Posted on 11/20/2006 11:40:52 AM PST by Wiggins
LOS ANGELES — An elderly man who killed 10 people and injured more than 70 others when he drove through an outdoor farmers market was sentenced Monday to probation by a judge who said he believed the crime deserved imprisonment but the defendant was too ill.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Sad. Manslaughter?
"Pedal Rage". Just when you think you heard it all.
What, no sick people in jail?
He wasn't too ill to stomp on it not so long ago.
My sympathy goes out to the families of those mowed down that fateful day...
"What? I'm old! I get confused!"
Hmpf. Kill ten - get probation. What a crock...
Expect a miraculous cure.
During the trial, jurors were shown photographs of several of the victims, including one who was sprawled on the street amid scattered strawberries. Another appeared to be embedded in the crumpled hood of Weller's car. Those killed ranged in age from 7 months to 78 years.
Although Weller did not testify during the trial, jurors did hear his taped interview with police immediately after the crash in which he said he tried everything he could think of to stop his car.
"I tried to take the control knob and jam it into park. Everything. Anything that I thought would stop the action of the car," he told a California Highway patrol investigator and a Santa Monica police detective.
He said he had no idea how many people he hit.
"But I'm deeply sorry for any pain that everyone went through. It was my fault," he said.
The crash left behind a devastating scene of carnage on what, until moments before, had been an idyllic Southern California summer day. It also ignited a national debate over whether elderly people should be allowed to continue to drive.
Weller was 86 when he sent his 1992 Buick Le Sabre roaring into the crowded farmers market on July 16, 2003. The vehicle traveled some 300 yards, reaching speeds of 60 mph or more, as it crashed into food stalls and mowed down scores of people. It finally came to a stop, after hitting a ditch, with one victim's body tangled underneath and another's draped across the hood.
The main issue raised at trial was whether Weller had control of the car during the 20 seconds it careened through the market.
Prosecutors said that was more than enough time to realize and correct his mistake, suggesting he steered into people and away from parked cars to avoid hurting himself.They called one witness who claimed Weller said: "You saw me coming, why didn't you get out of my way?"
Defense attorneys called expert witnesses who testified that Weller had likely been in a trancelike state of shock and was unable to determine he was pumping the accelerator and not the brake.
The tragedy had begun uneventfully enough with Weller, a retired food broker, leaving his Santa Monica home to mail a letter to his great-niece.
"How do you figure that a simple thing like that would be a precursor to all of the agony that I brought people?" he asked during his interview with police.
Witnesses testified that after Weller left the post office his car rear-ended a Mercedes-Benz just outside the farmer's market, then roared through the market's entrance.
The judge said it would serve no purpose to send the old coot to prison.
How about PUNISHMENT!!!!!
Stupid judge.
So, "just don't do it again, old timer!"
Is this judge related to Edward Cashman in VT who figured punishing a child molester would serve no purpose?
If you want to get revenge on someone you don't like just wait until you get old and get mad at your accelerator pedal.
It's a tragic situation in every sense. I'm sure there was no malice in the old man's actions. He mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal. It happens to a lot of people. Okay, well maybe it doesn't happen to a lot of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80-year-old drivers, but it happens to a lot of 86-year-old drivers.
Since you can't un-molest a child, that makes perfect sense. /sarcasm.
I think it shows a need to review elderly drivers for their ability to drive on a more frequent basis.
Airlines are allowed to discriminate based on age and health for pilots, so should the DMV.
I believe you're right. My mother did the same thing at age 78. Fortunately she was pressing the brake and wondering why her car wouldn't move. It was at a crowded airport at Christmas time--I'm so grateful she didn't make the opposite mistake. We got her to give up driving shortly thereafter.
I think he should have gone to jail. There were many things that he said and that others described after the crash that definitely gave one the impression that he knew what he was doing and was indeed having some bizarre episode of rage. Sometimes very elderly people have events like this, perhaps a stroke, perhaps a bit of dementia, but whatever it was, I think he needs to be put away for awhile. If only so that he won't be able to kill - er, drive - again.
I don't like the idea of letting him off, but he's 89 now, and it would cost a fortune for the state to pay his hospital bills as he dies. I'd say house arrest in a nursing home (at his expense) and division of his assets among his victims would be the most pragmatic solution. It would have been better for everybody if he'd died before he got behind the wheel.
Perp said he was deeply sorry for any pain people went thru. Give me a break. What does he think it was just scratches.
"Hmpf. Kill ten - get probation. What a crock..."
What purpose would be served by putting this guy in prison at $35K/year?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.