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9 people dead in Santa Monica
- Thread starter velvett
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Investigators are looking into the possibility that Russell Weller, 86, hit a Mercedes after leaving a post office, then sped less than a block west toward the street market, California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall said. Details about the Mercedes crash were not immediately available.
Whole article.
U.S. National - AP
Whole article.
U.S. National - AP
S
satchboogie
Guest
equality of all mankind regardless of age, sex, religion.
this man killed and deserves an appropriate punishment!
old people make me sick sometimes. they think they are owed something.
this man killed and deserves an appropriate punishment!
old people make me sick sometimes. they think they are owed something.
Calif. Farmers Market Reopens After Crash
Farmers, vendors and customers joined hands and embraced Saturday to reopen the farmers market where a speeding car hit as many as 50 people Wednesday, killing 10 of them.
Standing before flowers, photographs of the victims and letters to the victims' families, several dozen people listened as Rev. Janet Bregar of the Santa Monica Bay Interfaith Council read an American Indian "prayer for entering the day."
"Give me a heart of courage and believing, so I may trust in you and fear nothing," the Lutheran minister said, invoking the Great Spirit in the Plains Indian prayer.
"Our feelings remain raw," said Richard Bloom, mayor of the diverse and colorful city on the Pacific west of Los Angeles. "I encourage every one of you today to embrace one another ... Talk to one another, talk about what happened."
Trucks were in place Saturday at both ends of the market to prevent anything like the tragedy in which 86-year-old Russell Weller crashed his Buick sedan through the market.
Police were still investigating whether Weller might also have hit a Mercedes and was speeding away from that collision when he plowed into the market.
"He could have been confused, he could have been scared and tried to get away, we just don't know at this point," Tom Marshall, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said Friday.
Police have said Weller told them he didn't realize until too late that Arizona Avenue was closed to traffic. They also said Weller believes he might have hit the gas instead of the brake as he tried to stop.
Witnesses said Weller's car sped down the entire length of the open-air market, knocking down stalls, scattering produce and hitting people. The 10 dead ranged in age from 7 months to 78 years.
Weller's attorney, Jim Bianco, released a statement Wednesday saying it was an accident. He did not return calls Saturday for a third day seeking further comment.
Vendors hung black ribbons Saturday, the first day the market was scheduled to be open since the tragedy. Customers began lining up moments after the reopening ceremony to squeeze tomatoes or sample avocados.
Yuppies mixed with retirees. Farmers bagged organic vegetables alongside part-time employees who included surfers and artists.
But a peach vendor, Halil Parlar, declined to set up for business. He stood in the middle of the market with a sign that read, "Safety first" on one side, and "Open before a memorial?" on the other side. He said the market should have been closed Saturday in memory of the victims.
"This is a matter of respect," he said. "People died here."
City spokeswoman Judy Rambeau said many vendors wanted the market to reopen so they would have a place to come together and talk.
"We don't want one tragic occurrence to stop something that's been so good for 22 years," she said.
Farmers, vendors and customers joined hands and embraced Saturday to reopen the farmers market where a speeding car hit as many as 50 people Wednesday, killing 10 of them.
Standing before flowers, photographs of the victims and letters to the victims' families, several dozen people listened as Rev. Janet Bregar of the Santa Monica Bay Interfaith Council read an American Indian "prayer for entering the day."
"Give me a heart of courage and believing, so I may trust in you and fear nothing," the Lutheran minister said, invoking the Great Spirit in the Plains Indian prayer.
"Our feelings remain raw," said Richard Bloom, mayor of the diverse and colorful city on the Pacific west of Los Angeles. "I encourage every one of you today to embrace one another ... Talk to one another, talk about what happened."
Trucks were in place Saturday at both ends of the market to prevent anything like the tragedy in which 86-year-old Russell Weller crashed his Buick sedan through the market.
Police were still investigating whether Weller might also have hit a Mercedes and was speeding away from that collision when he plowed into the market.
"He could have been confused, he could have been scared and tried to get away, we just don't know at this point," Tom Marshall, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said Friday.
Police have said Weller told them he didn't realize until too late that Arizona Avenue was closed to traffic. They also said Weller believes he might have hit the gas instead of the brake as he tried to stop.
Witnesses said Weller's car sped down the entire length of the open-air market, knocking down stalls, scattering produce and hitting people. The 10 dead ranged in age from 7 months to 78 years.
Weller's attorney, Jim Bianco, released a statement Wednesday saying it was an accident. He did not return calls Saturday for a third day seeking further comment.
Vendors hung black ribbons Saturday, the first day the market was scheduled to be open since the tragedy. Customers began lining up moments after the reopening ceremony to squeeze tomatoes or sample avocados.
Yuppies mixed with retirees. Farmers bagged organic vegetables alongside part-time employees who included surfers and artists.
But a peach vendor, Halil Parlar, declined to set up for business. He stood in the middle of the market with a sign that read, "Safety first" on one side, and "Open before a memorial?" on the other side. He said the market should have been closed Saturday in memory of the victims.
"This is a matter of respect," he said. "People died here."
City spokeswoman Judy Rambeau said many vendors wanted the market to reopen so they would have a place to come together and talk.
"We don't want one tragic occurrence to stop something that's been so good for 22 years," she said.
