When is it Time to Hang up The Car Keys?
Discussion
George Russell Weller wrote a letter to his niece and wanted to make sure she received it as quickly as possible, so he drove to the Santa Monica post office.
When his trip on July 16, 2003, was over, the retired salesman's Buick LeSabre had torn through an open-air farmers market, killing a 7-month-old boy, the infant's 62-year-old grandmother, a 3-year-old girl and seven others, and injuring more than 60.
Referring to the letter to his niece, he told officers, “How do you figure a single thing like that would be a precursor to all of that agony that I brought people?”
He's charged with 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. If convicted, the 89-year-old faces as many as 18 years in prison.
The crash touched off a national debate about the potential danger posed by senior drivers, an issue expected to come into sharp focus during the trial. California had nearly 207,000 licensed drivers ages 85 and older at the end of 2005. Of those, 44,000 were at least 90 years old, the California Department of Motor Vehicles reported.
Prosecutors will contend that Weller acted recklessly, driving into crowds of people and away from vehicles that could have stopped his car.
“When you get behind the wheel, you're held to the same standard of care whether you're 16 or 86,” Deputy District Attorney Ann Ambrose said. “Age does not provide a legal excuse for criminal conduct.”
Defence lawyers say Weller, who tutored high school students and served on a library board, is guilty of no crime. They say he mistakenly pressed down on the gas pedal, believing he was using the brake.
His attorneys hope to present evidence that Weller was in a mental state that clouded his thinking and prevented him from taking other steps to stop his car, such as using the parking brake. “It was an accident as a result of pedal error,” defence lawyer Mark Overland said.
A central issue at the trial will be whether Weller was grossly negligent in the deaths. Prosecutors will have to prove he acted in a way that created a high risk of death or bodily injury, and that a reasonable person would have known that acting in such a way would have created the risk.
Ambrose is expected to provide a detailed reconstruction, with harrowing witness accounts, graphic pictures and expert testimony analyzing the path of destruction.
The chain of events started after Weller dropped off his letter at the post office and turned onto a street leading to where most of the farmers market vendors had set up their stands.
At an intersection half a block away from the nearest vendors, Weller reportedly struck a stopped Mercedes-Benz. Witnesses said he then steered away from that car and another, and nearly struck a bicyclist before going through the intersection.
One witness said she saw the car slow down and its brake lights come on momentarily before it entered the crowded rows of stalls. Another witness testified during Weller's preliminary hearing that she heard a wave of screams travel through the market.
Witnesses said the vehicle traveled about 1,000 feet at speeds between 40 and 60 mph, and that Weller appeared “focused” and “determined.”
Some saw the vehicle veer away from parked cars and back toward people in the street. The Buick came to a stop only because a woman's body became wedged under it.
To bolster the government's case, prosecutors hope to tell jurors about a string of other traffic incidents involving Weller, including a witness account of his alleged erratic driving hours before the market deaths.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson is expected Tuesday to consider whether prosecutors can mention those collisions.
In defense papers, Overland states that he plans to call a witness who will say Weller appeared as if he was “in shock or a daze.” Weller's attorney also contends that in some instances of “pedal misapplication,” drivers can enter “a psychological and physiological state known as hypervigilance” that is marked by “a narrowing of vision, (and) an inability to clearly develop an appropriate response” to the danger.
Prosecutor Ambrose is challenging the admission of some of the expert testimony. The judge also is expected to take up that issue Tuesday.
Also unsettled is whether Ambrose will be allowed to use Weller's police statement in the government's case. According to a transcript of the interview, Weller did not tell police that he had struck the Mercedes and could not explain why his car accelerated.
During the interview, a detective asked Weller about his last driver's license examination. Weller said that in 2001 he had scored high enough on the written test that a road exam was not needed. The trial continues.
© X-Pro 2006
its american and i get it as part of expert cpd but equally relevent to gb
When his trip on July 16, 2003, was over, the retired salesman's Buick LeSabre had torn through an open-air farmers market, killing a 7-month-old boy, the infant's 62-year-old grandmother, a 3-year-old girl and seven others, and injuring more than 60.
Referring to the letter to his niece, he told officers, “How do you figure a single thing like that would be a precursor to all of that agony that I brought people?”
He's charged with 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. If convicted, the 89-year-old faces as many as 18 years in prison.
The crash touched off a national debate about the potential danger posed by senior drivers, an issue expected to come into sharp focus during the trial. California had nearly 207,000 licensed drivers ages 85 and older at the end of 2005. Of those, 44,000 were at least 90 years old, the California Department of Motor Vehicles reported.
Prosecutors will contend that Weller acted recklessly, driving into crowds of people and away from vehicles that could have stopped his car.
“When you get behind the wheel, you're held to the same standard of care whether you're 16 or 86,” Deputy District Attorney Ann Ambrose said. “Age does not provide a legal excuse for criminal conduct.”
Defence lawyers say Weller, who tutored high school students and served on a library board, is guilty of no crime. They say he mistakenly pressed down on the gas pedal, believing he was using the brake.
His attorneys hope to present evidence that Weller was in a mental state that clouded his thinking and prevented him from taking other steps to stop his car, such as using the parking brake. “It was an accident as a result of pedal error,” defence lawyer Mark Overland said.
A central issue at the trial will be whether Weller was grossly negligent in the deaths. Prosecutors will have to prove he acted in a way that created a high risk of death or bodily injury, and that a reasonable person would have known that acting in such a way would have created the risk.
Ambrose is expected to provide a detailed reconstruction, with harrowing witness accounts, graphic pictures and expert testimony analyzing the path of destruction.
The chain of events started after Weller dropped off his letter at the post office and turned onto a street leading to where most of the farmers market vendors had set up their stands.
At an intersection half a block away from the nearest vendors, Weller reportedly struck a stopped Mercedes-Benz. Witnesses said he then steered away from that car and another, and nearly struck a bicyclist before going through the intersection.
One witness said she saw the car slow down and its brake lights come on momentarily before it entered the crowded rows of stalls. Another witness testified during Weller's preliminary hearing that she heard a wave of screams travel through the market.
Witnesses said the vehicle traveled about 1,000 feet at speeds between 40 and 60 mph, and that Weller appeared “focused” and “determined.”
Some saw the vehicle veer away from parked cars and back toward people in the street. The Buick came to a stop only because a woman's body became wedged under it.
To bolster the government's case, prosecutors hope to tell jurors about a string of other traffic incidents involving Weller, including a witness account of his alleged erratic driving hours before the market deaths.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson is expected Tuesday to consider whether prosecutors can mention those collisions.
In defense papers, Overland states that he plans to call a witness who will say Weller appeared as if he was “in shock or a daze.” Weller's attorney also contends that in some instances of “pedal misapplication,” drivers can enter “a psychological and physiological state known as hypervigilance” that is marked by “a narrowing of vision, (and) an inability to clearly develop an appropriate response” to the danger.
Prosecutor Ambrose is challenging the admission of some of the expert testimony. The judge also is expected to take up that issue Tuesday.
Also unsettled is whether Ambrose will be allowed to use Weller's police statement in the government's case. According to a transcript of the interview, Weller did not tell police that he had struck the Mercedes and could not explain why his car accelerated.
During the interview, a detective asked Weller about his last driver's license examination. Weller said that in 2001 he had scored high enough on the written test that a road exam was not needed. The trial continues.
© X-Pro 2006
its american and i get it as part of expert cpd but equally relevent to gb
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff