Horrible incident in Santa Monica. At least 8 reported dead, many more injured.

[rueyeet]

Nope. Not anymore. That changes everything. Killing innocent people because you're afraid of a little accident is outrageous. This implies that he had his wits and knew what he was doing.

Whatever wits the guy had were apparently not enough to make the simple common-sense argument that it's really stupid to attempt to escape being caught in one crime by committing a far more severe one. I suspect he had enough wits about him to think "oops! dented fender--better make a break for it!" but not enough to remember that the farmer's market was that day on that street, and once he plowed into the unexpected crowd of pedestrians, all his remaining wits may have deserted him.

Whichever, he darn well should stand trial for vehicular manslaughter, and should at the least have his license permanently revoked. I'm not for the death sentence in this case--it's redundant when the defendant's THAT old; but some form of punishment is justified.

As for treating him differently because of age, and having the same discussion over a 37 year old: It isn't a question of age, but of ability. If that hypothetical 37 year old was mildly retarded, say, then I think the discussion would be much the same. In this case, the man's age could be an indicator of senility or other loss of faculties, so it's relevant.

 

[bousozoku]

Someone here was recently convicted for fleeing from police and killing someone in their way. The man had a suspended driver's licence--is that a surprise? He wanted leniency. How can you feel sorry for such people?

It's tough to be arrested for bad driving here. He apparently went out of his way to make himself known repeatedly.

Another person was supposedly driving at a high rate of speed (whatever that really is) and drove into a tree backwards, killing her daughter, another girl, and inflicting permanent brain damage on a boy. She doesn't think that she should have to be responsible, either. She was convicted and given two concurrent 15 year terms instead of sequential terms, probably due to the fact that they have real money.

It's sad that people don't claim responsibility to anything they do. Concerning the old man driving in Santa Monica, he should be judged by his inability to make good decisions and punished as strongly as possible, regardless of age.

 

[wdlove]

Driving should be on ability not age. My fear is that with the aging of the Baby Boomers, laws will be passed due to age. A blanket change would be wrong.

 

[bousozoku]

Driving should be on ability not age. My fear is that with the aging of the Baby Boomers, laws will be passed due to age. A blanket change would be wrong.

You're right but fewer states are testing drivers. I've never even had a written test in Floriduh and on renewal, I didn't have an eye test since I renewed over the internet.

Things should become more strict and fines should include money toward public transportation for those who shouldn't be driving at all.

 

[Doctor Q]

This week the judge will hear statements about whether George Weller should be charged with vehicular manslaughter for causing the deaths in last year's Santa Monica marketplace accident.

That's what I said October 24. Today the judge made the ruling: Mr. Weller will stand trial for 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter.

 

[wdlove]

That's what I said October 24. Today the judge made the ruling: Mr. Weller will stand trial for 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter.

I wish Mr. Weller well with his defense. Wouldn't wish it on anyone to be on the jury that will have to judge this man.

 

[Doctor Q]

The lawyer arguing his case said that it was simply a matter of "pedal error" - pushing the wrong pedal and not realizing what was wrong.

The opposing lawyer countered that even pedal error is a case of negligence, and that Mr. Weller was aware of what he was doing because he steered to avoid parked cars while driving through the crowds at freeway speed.

 

[Doctor Q]

Ironically, Mr. Weller's life was saved by somebody he killed, because the friction of the body under the car stopped his forward motion. If he had gone another two blocks, he would have crossed Palisades Park, broken through the fence over the cliffs, and ended up down on Pacific Coast Highway at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Cliffs:

Looking down to Pacific Coast Highway:

Approaching Palisades Park the direction Mr. Weller was going:

 

[obeygiant]

does anyone have that picture from a helicopter of his car after the accident?
The one where there is a pickle and a shoe on top of a dented in hood.

 

[Doctor Q]

It's taken this long, but the jury trial of George Weller has finally begun this month. He's charged with 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter and faces possible prison time if convicted, as a result of this 2003 incident.

Mr. Weller is 83 years old. Statistics show that drivers over 70 are five times more likely to experience "pedal error", which is what the Highway Patrol concluded caused this accident. However, the jury may instead find that he was reckless or negligent. By the way, the currently oldest inmate in California is 93.

Two witnesses are going to testify that Mr. Weller said "If you saw me coming, you should have gotten out of my way." after his car finally stopped, but most of the victims say they think it was a tragic accident, not a crime.

In a separate case, an 85-year-old man hit the wrong pedal and injured 10 people in El Monte, California, earlier this year. He was not charged.

 

[Kingsly]

I cant believe their charging him at all. Can they prove criminal intent?

 

[Doctor Q]

They may not be able to "prove" it, but they might be able to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Much of the evidence will be based on his statements to people at the scene and to the police immediately afterward. He has refused to testify in the trial.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Actually, vengeance is RIGHT....people wouldn't kill if they were tortured. It's quite simple, make the punishment hell, and crime will drop like mad.

How perfectly primitive.

I understand the Taliban work under such premises.

I think I'll just trust the current system to work this out.

 

[PalmHarborTchr]

How I avoid this:

I live in Florida. There are many old folks driving who should NOT be driving but Jeb Bush is afraid to stop them because he wants them all to continue to vote for Republicans at the poles.
However...most of the old folks here drive big Buicks..they just love the Buicks and when I see one I avoid it like crazy, passing
it quickly.
I think the old folks should have special license plates that ID
them like a big SR. on a decal that must be on the back window.

 

[Doctor Q]

By an eerie and sad coincidence, the oldest victim to survive the incident died yesterday, just as the trial begins.

 

[Felldownthewell]

I cant believe their charging him at all. Can they prove criminal intent?

He killed 10 people including a small child. He should be prosecuted whether he meant to do it or not.

 

[yg17]

He should definitely be prosecuted. If it was a younger person who did this, they'd get prosecuted. He shouldn't get off because he's old.

 

[damienvfx]

This guy killed 10 people

Because of him, 10 people are dead. He should spend the rest of his life in jail.

 

[bousozoku]

He should definitely be prosecuted. If it was a younger person who did this, they'd get prosecuted. He shouldn't get off because he's old.

There was an incident the other day in Brevard County, Floriduh where some 83 year old man was driving in the dark to his dialysis treatment and hit "something" along the road but he kept driving. Later, he caused a chain reaction accident involving 10 cars.

He apparently turned himself over to police after his treatment. The police said that if he had not left the scene of the dead man in the first incident, he would not have been charged. Can you believe it?

 

[Felldownthewell]

There was an incident the other day in Brevard County, Floriduh where some 83 year old man was driving in the dark to his dialysis treatment and hit "something" along the road but he kept driving. Later, he caused a chain reaction accident involving 10 cars.

He apparently turned himself over to police after his treatment. The police said that if he had not left the scene of the dead man in the first incident, he would not have been charged. Can you believe it?

My grandma just turned 80. the other day I was driving with her to go get gas. As we pulled up to an intersection, she pulled into the left hand turn lane with its own dedicated left turn signal, and started to pull through the red light. I yelled at her that it was red, she stopped, and then proceded to laugh it off as "oh, you new, back seat drivers" (I have been driving for over a year without a ticket or accident). She is mentally clear and a wonderful person, but I now insists that I drive whenever we go somewhere because I do not trust her.

I think that periodically throughout life, drivers should have to be re-tested- not just the written test but an actual drive test. Obviously, some 90 year olds will still be great drivers while some 50 year olds will be a danger to others. This should be law not just because of age slowly wearing down reaction time, but because the driving laws change constantly, and a refresher course ever 30 years or so would hurt nobody and save countless lives.

 

[bousozoku]

My grandma just turned 80. the other day I was driving with her to go get gas. As we pulled up to an intersection, she pulled into the left hand turn lane with its own dedicated left turn signal, and started to pull through the red light. I yelled at her that it was red, she stopped, and then proceded to laugh it off as "oh, you new, back seat drivers" (I have been driving for over a year without a ticket or accident). She is mentally clear and a wonderful person, but I now insists that I drive whenever we go somewhere because I do not trust her.

I think that periodically throughout life, drivers should have to be re-tested- not just the written test but an actual drive test. Obviously, some 90 year olds will still be great drivers while some 50 year olds will be a danger to others. This should be law not just because of age slowly wearing down reaction time, but because the driving laws change constantly, and a refresher course ever 30 years or so would hurt nobody and save countless lives.

Older people tend to be scary. My adoptive dad has pulled some really weird and wild stunts.

I'm to the point where I feel everyone should be tested frequently. My last renewal in Floriduh was over the internet. They didn't even require an eye test. My last written test was when I moved to Pennsylvania in 1988 and I've never had a driving skills test because I aced my Driver's Education class.

Still, drivers are pretty bad all around the country and I've driven through a lot of states in the past two years. If police were more aggressive on the things that count, would there be as much of a problem? People drive through red lights, avoid using turn signals, turn from the wrong lane, etc. I'm not even concerned about speeding. Speeding by itself doesn't kill, lack of expertise does.

What will it take? How many people have to die?

 

[Ugg]

Older people tend to be scary. My adoptive dad has pulled some really weird and wild stunts.

What will it take? How many people have to die?

My Dad just turned 73. His driving was never the best, but it's gotten a lot worse in the last few years. He totally disregards the traffic conditions around him and one minute will be doing 35 the next, 75. We've tried to tell him but....

 

[skunk]

I think that periodically throughout life, drivers should have to be re-tested- not just the written test but an actual drive test. Obviously, some 90 year olds will still be great drivers while some 50 year olds will be a danger to others. This should be law not just because of age slowly wearing down reaction time, but because the driving laws change constantly, and a refresher course ever 30 years or so would hurt nobody and save countless lives.

You'll feel differently when you're 50...

 

[Frogurt]

This guy should go to prison, not house arrest, not probation, not just compensating victims, prison. A bunch of people talk about "what is the point of sending an old man who is about to die anyway to prison?" What is the point of sending a young man to prison? Think about it, the old man's life is basically over, nothing significant left to contribute to society. But the young man will have children and years left that he can contribute instead of wasting away in prison. I'm not advocating letting everyone young out of jail, just pointing out that the rationale for letting old people off is silly. The point of prison should be to keep dangerous people away from the public and to rehabilitate criminals. This guy is obviously dangerous to other people.

 

[bousozoku]

My Dad just turned 73. His driving was never the best, but it's gotten a lot worse in the last few years. He totally disregards the traffic conditions around him and one minute will be doing 35 the next, 75. We've tried to tell him but....

He doesn't listen because he knows better than you do, of course. He's older and you're all 7 years old, right?

Considering what happened a year ago with my dad taking off in the minivan and wrecking it and being about 100 miles from home when found, I believe that stricter measures have to be implemented. He's not driving any more and he doesn't have a driver's licence but would that stop anyone on their own?

My mum is only 5 years younger and we can see her mind slipping (with him there, why wouldn't it?) but she does well at most things. She has to stay sharp because he isn't.

When I was in the Philly area back in July, some older lady (60s maybe) drove up to the Talbot's store where I was passing and she went over the parking block. All she needed was a little confusion between the brake and the accelerator and Talbot's would have had a drive-through store. It's so easy for any of us but it's worse when your senses are diminished and worse when your physical control is lacking.