Broader Inquiry Urged in Farmers Market Tragedy

An attorney for the families of a woman and 3-year-old girl killed by an errant driver July 16 at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market called Friday for a broader investigation of the tragedy, saying law enforcement reports have ignored the city’s potential liability.

The California Highway Patrol and Santa Monica Police Department have blamed the tragedy on George Russell Weller, the 86-year-old driver who sped through the market in his Buick LeSabre, killing 10 people and injuring 63. On Wednesday, the Santa Monica police chief said Weller should be prosecuted for manslaughter.

“It’s obvious Mr. Weller is not the only person responsible,” said Gregory Moreno, an attorney for the families of Gloria Gonzales, 35, and Cindy Palacios Valladares, 3, who died after being struck by Weller’s car. “The responsibility should be spread among all those responsible.”

Moreno said that it was “foreseeable that this could happen” and that Santa Monica was negligent in not erecting barriers at the market entrances. He said the city has “state-of-the-art barricades coming out of the street” to keep wayward vehicles off the pedestrian-only Third Street Promenade, which intersects the street on which the outdoor market is held.

“The point here is that the Police Department and CHP report is incomplete, inadequate and focuses only on Mr. Weller,” Moreno said in an interview. “Their function is to look at all factors -- human, environmental, road [conditions] -- not only to investigate what happened, but to prevent it from happening again in the future.”

Moreno also criticized the CHP and Police Department for not making their reports available to victims.

Deputy City Atty. Jeanette Schachtner has said Santa Monica was not responsible for damages, and the city has rejected more than two dozen claims filed against it. A number of civil lawsuits are expected to be filed against Weller and the city.

For injured victims and survivors of the dead, the issue of responsibility is vital. Lawyers say Weller’s assets and insurance are expected to be wiped out quickly as individuals sue him to recover damages. Victims are thus likely to turn for redress to the city, with its greater financial resources.

At a news conference in Montebello, Gil Martinez described the months since the death of Gonzales, his wife, as a time of tragedy and loss. With the holidays at hand, he said, their two small children have been asking, “Where’s Mommy?”

Veronica Reza, the mother of the 3-year-old who died, was harshly critical of the city for not having barricades across the market entrances.

“They still haven’t taken the necessary precautions to make that market safe,” Geoff Wells, an attorney representing other clients who plan to file claims, said in an interview. “They need to take affirmative steps to ... show the public they’re serious about safety.”

Since the tragedy, which occurred just minutes before the market’s closing, vendors have begun parking vans crosswise at the ends of the streets to block off the bazaar, held Wednesdays and Saturdays. The city has said that heavy barricades are not practical because they would hamper the movement of emergency vehicles.