Judge Orders Trial in Market Deaths
George Weller must stand trial for killing 10 people when he sped his car through a Santa Monica farmers market last year, a judge ruled today.
Weller’s defense attorneys argued that the 87-year-old man accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake, panicked and froze, and was unable to stop his car.
Superior Court Judge Katherine Mader determined that even if Weller panicked after pressing the wrong pedal, he negligently drove his car through the market.
“Mr. Weller continued to drive, with bodies flying over his car,” she said. “Mr. Weller did not react to the bedlam, the screams, the crashing of the stalls.”
Mader’s decision came after a preliminary hearing at the courthouse near Los Angeles International Airport. Weller attended the first morning of the hearing, but was excused from court because of a heart condition.
Weller faces 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter causing gross negligence, charges that could result in an 18-year prison sentence. He is scheduled to return to court Nov. 17 for his arraignment.
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