PhilosophyGenius
11-20-2006, 07:33 PM
Elderly Driver Who Killed 10 Gets Probation
Man Guilty Of 10 Counts Of Vehicular Manslaughter
http://www.wnbc.com/news/10362250/detail.html?rss=ny&psp=news
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.
George Russell Weller, 89, was convicted Oct. 20 of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in a case that ignited debate over the licensing of elderly drivers. Weller, confined to a sickbed, was not present.
Weller was 86 when he plowed his 1992 Buick Le Sabre into the crowded farmers market on July 16, 2003, moments after colliding with another car. Moving at freeway speed, the car left a trail of carnage at the suburban Santa Monica street market, with victims age 7 months to 78 years, hurled through the air or crushed.
Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson said he agreed completely with the jury and called Weller's actions callous and showing "an enormous indifference to human life."
"I'm convinced that Mr. Weller deserves to go to prison. But the fact that he deserves to go to prison, doesn't mean he should get it," Johnson said.
Weller could have received up to 18 years in prison, but the judge said Weller's health problems including severe heart disease would make him a burden on prison authorities and taxpayers, and that imprisonment would most likely kill Weller.
Defense attorneys argued at trial that Weller was a victim of "pedal error," in which he panicked and mistook the car's accelerator for the brake. Prosecutors said he was careless to the point of criminal negligence.
The judge dissected the accident events beginning with the initial car-to-car collision and noted that Weller had enough control of his own vehicle to steer away from cars and trucks within the farmers market.
"Mr. Weller chose to steer into the people, plowing into the crowd and literally launching bodies into the air as his car sped 2.5 blocks," the judge said.
The judge also called Weller's apologies hollow.
The district attorney's office did not make a sentencing recommendation but did cite a probation officer's recommendation that Weller spend at least a small amount of time in prison.
"I believe the courts have to be practical as well as principled. I don't see any purpose of sending Mr. Weller to jail or prison. It wouldn't do anybody any good," the judge said, however.
Weller, a month short of his 90th birthday, was placed on five years' felony probation. The judge also ordered him to pay about $90,000 in penalties, including fines and restititution for families of two victims. Restitution for the remainder of the victims was still being resolved. Weller was ordered to disclose all his assets, income and liabilities to the Probation Department.
The crash set off a national debate over whether people should be allowed to continue to drive past a certain age and whether elderly drivers must submit to additional road and written tests when they renew their licenses.
Although Weller didn't testify in his defense, a tape of his interview with police immediately after the accident was played in court. He told authorities he did everything he could think of to try to stop the vehicle, including attempting to throw its gearshift knob into park.
Man Guilty Of 10 Counts Of Vehicular Manslaughter
http://www.wnbc.com/news/10362250/detail.html?rss=ny&psp=news
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.
George Russell Weller, 89, was convicted Oct. 20 of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in a case that ignited debate over the licensing of elderly drivers. Weller, confined to a sickbed, was not present.
Weller was 86 when he plowed his 1992 Buick Le Sabre into the crowded farmers market on July 16, 2003, moments after colliding with another car. Moving at freeway speed, the car left a trail of carnage at the suburban Santa Monica street market, with victims age 7 months to 78 years, hurled through the air or crushed.
Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson said he agreed completely with the jury and called Weller's actions callous and showing "an enormous indifference to human life."
"I'm convinced that Mr. Weller deserves to go to prison. But the fact that he deserves to go to prison, doesn't mean he should get it," Johnson said.
Weller could have received up to 18 years in prison, but the judge said Weller's health problems including severe heart disease would make him a burden on prison authorities and taxpayers, and that imprisonment would most likely kill Weller.
Defense attorneys argued at trial that Weller was a victim of "pedal error," in which he panicked and mistook the car's accelerator for the brake. Prosecutors said he was careless to the point of criminal negligence.
The judge dissected the accident events beginning with the initial car-to-car collision and noted that Weller had enough control of his own vehicle to steer away from cars and trucks within the farmers market.
"Mr. Weller chose to steer into the people, plowing into the crowd and literally launching bodies into the air as his car sped 2.5 blocks," the judge said.
The judge also called Weller's apologies hollow.
The district attorney's office did not make a sentencing recommendation but did cite a probation officer's recommendation that Weller spend at least a small amount of time in prison.
"I believe the courts have to be practical as well as principled. I don't see any purpose of sending Mr. Weller to jail or prison. It wouldn't do anybody any good," the judge said, however.
Weller, a month short of his 90th birthday, was placed on five years' felony probation. The judge also ordered him to pay about $90,000 in penalties, including fines and restititution for families of two victims. Restitution for the remainder of the victims was still being resolved. Weller was ordered to disclose all his assets, income and liabilities to the Probation Department.
The crash set off a national debate over whether people should be allowed to continue to drive past a certain age and whether elderly drivers must submit to additional road and written tests when they renew their licenses.
Although Weller didn't testify in his defense, a tape of his interview with police immediately after the accident was played in court. He told authorities he did everything he could think of to try to stop the vehicle, including attempting to throw its gearshift knob into park.