Free Republic

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.

The elderly driver who ran down and killed 10 people in an open air market in Santa Monica was convicted today of all criminal charges, decisively denying defense pleas for mercy. The verdict leaves to a judge the task of deciding whether George Russell Weller, 89, goes to prison for as long as 18 years. Weller will appeal the decision, defense attorney Mark Overland said. By their unanimous verdict, jurors rejected arguments that the aged driver made a mistake and found him guilty on 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for killing 10 people. He injured 68 others...

George Russell Weller sat in a wheelchair Tuesday, wearing a loosely knotted tie, and looked up at a huge projection of his car after he had driven through an open-air market three years ago, killing 10 people and injuring more than 60. One dead man was draped across the hood while another victim lay under the front wheels. ... But Deputy Dist. Atty. Ann Ambrose said witnesses reported that Weller appeared intent and drove his car through the crowded weekly market along Arizona Avenue at speeds in excess of 60 mph. Ambrose said the case is much more than an...

(AP) SANTA MONICA, Calif. A judge has ruled that the city of Santa Monica is not liable for a fatal vehicle accident three years ago in which an elderly motorist plowed into a crowded farmer's market. About 50 victims and relatives allege in a civil lawsuit that the city failed to protect them from the accident that killed ten shoppers and injured 63 others. Federal transportation regulators faulted the city for using inadequate safety precautions and an outdated traffic plan that didn't comply with government guidelines. But a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled Monday that the city is...

When George Russell Weller sped through a packed farmers market Wednesday in Santa Monica, Calif., the 86-year-old driver apparently stomped on the gas pedal when he meant to hit the brake. His confusion lasted for nearly three city blocks, cost 10 people their lives and injured dozens more. Even so, legal experts say, it might not constitute a crime. Tests showed no signs that Weller was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His statements to police -- that he tried to stop the car, not floor it -- suggest his actions were unintentional. Might then his age be to...