Elderly Man Gets Probation for Deadly Santa Monica Market Crash

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.

I agree, I'm with you on this. This is an old man who got very confusesd. He did not do this on purpose and putting him on jail will not solve anything here. Sure, pay restitution, but not jail time. Before my father passed away, I discouraged him from driving because I was afraid of an accident. We need to think about our own parents getting older and if they had an accident, is jail where they belong?

This is one of those cases where the guys family needed to take away the car keys. I had a 75 year old uncle with severe diabetes. He would drive somewhere, go into shock, end up somewhere,not be able to remember how he got there, sideswipe cars. Probably best to think of the poor people that happen to come across them on the road.

My Dad drove mostly locally after he was 80, almost up until he passed away at 81; but he had good mental capabilities and reflexes also up to the end. I don't know how I would have handled trying to take him off the road if he had gotten doddery. - I'm 60 yrs. old myself, and I can tell my body is backing its leg on me to a certain degree. It's difficult for 20-somethings and even 30-somethings to realize really just how fast time sometimes seems to fly and just how gradually and painfully the old arthritis (not fun) kicks in. - Twenty years ago (seems like only yesterday), when we built the house we live in now, I was still in my 30's (barely) and we made it a two-story and I could run up and down those steps. Now I take them one at a time, have moved my office downstairs and wished many times we had forgotten about an upstairs. :O(

Of course, it goes without saying that we feel sad and pray for the people killed and hurt in that tragedy; but I can also imagine an old man, probably a widower, getting himself up and ready that day, looking forward to a nice day at the farmer's market just like any of us would. It's tragic that he wasn't involved in some minor incident where the police had taken his drivers' license before this happened; but if any one of us is involved in an automobile accident that is our fault, I am sure we would fervently pray for anyone hurt or killed and their families, and for a little merciful prayer from others for ourselves instead of condemnation.

Believe me, aging and elderly people get more than their share of disrespect and contempt due to the "culture of youth" in which we live. At 60, I've already felt the sting of the "that old lady" syndrome. If only the young & semi-young & contemptuous really knew just how truly, truly fast time seems to fly.

We had to take away my mothers car and keys when she turned 82 years old because she was starting to show signs of dementia. She's doing fine now at 85 and it was a great relief to all of us that we took action in time and didn't wait for someone to get hurt or for her to get lost. My mother didn't like it at first but she got used to it because we help her out as much as possible.

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