Jury selection to begin in farmers market deaths

LOS ANGELES - An elderly man who killed 10 people while plowing into a Santa Monica farmers market three years ago told police he didn't know how his car kept accelerating or how it eventually came to a stop.

During police interrogations after the incident on July 16, 2003, that also left more than 60 injured, George Russell Weller spoke of the "poor people" who died and his "contribution" to their deaths, according to police transcripts obtained by the Los Angeles Times last week.

Whether Weller committed a crime or was just part of an unfortunate tragedy is a question that will soon be debated in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Jury selection begins in the case today.

District Attorney Steve Cooley's office says Weller, 89, is worthy of criminal punishment.

"Mr. Weller needs to take responsibility for his actions, and the victims and their families need to come to court and be heard," said Deputy District Attorney Ann Ambrose.

Ambrose said two witnessess will testify that after Weller's car stopped, he said: "If you saw me coming, you should have gotten out of my way."

Weller was charged with 10 counts of manslaughter. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Weller has refused to testify in civil lawsuits filed by the injured and survivors of the deceased, citing his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. That leaves what he said three years ago.

According to police documents, he said: "God almighty, those poor people. Poor, poor, tragic people. And what a tragic ending to their outing, and I contributed to it, which is just almost more than I can figure out ."

To make the case, prosecutors are seeking to use Weller's driving record. He was involved in several minor accidents during the decade before the farmers market crash.

And minutes before he drove through the market, he had been involved in a fender bender.

The defense contends that Weller had one horrendous senior moment in which he tried to brake but hit the accelerator by mistake and simply could not stop.