sws4420
10-20-2006, 10:01 PM
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/LAW/10/20/market.crash.ap/story.market.afp.gi.jpg
LOS ANGELES. California (AP) -- An old man whose car hurtled through a farmers market, killing 10 people and injuring more than 70, was convicted Friday of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence -- the harshest verdict possible.
George Russell Weller, 89 and in poor health, will probably spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2003 crash, which set off a national debate over whether elderly people should be barred from driving or required to pass additional tests when renewing their licenses.
Weller was not in court to hear the verdict, reached by a jury after eight days of deliberation.
His attorneys argued that he mistakenly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake and panicked when the vehicle raced into the open-air market. But prosecutors said he was careless to the point of criminal negligence and lacked remorse.
"He looked at what he had done, essentially shrugged his shoulders and said, `Oops,"' prosecutor Ann Ambrose told the jury.
Weller's 1992 Buick Le Sabre traveled about 300 yards, reaching 60 mph or more as it crashed into food stalls. It finally came to a stop after hitting a ditch, with one victim's body tangled underneath and another's draped across the hood. The victims ranged in age from 7 to 78.
Weller did not testify, but jurors heard a taped interview with police immediately after the crash in which he said he tried everything he could think of to stop the car.
"I tried to take the control knob and jam it into park. Everything. Anything that I thought would stop the action of the car," he said.
Weller faces two to six years on each of the 10 manslaughter counts. Until then, he is prohibited from driving anywhere.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/10/20/market.crash.ap/index.html
LOS ANGELES. California (AP) -- An old man whose car hurtled through a farmers market, killing 10 people and injuring more than 70, was convicted Friday of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence -- the harshest verdict possible.
George Russell Weller, 89 and in poor health, will probably spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2003 crash, which set off a national debate over whether elderly people should be barred from driving or required to pass additional tests when renewing their licenses.
Weller was not in court to hear the verdict, reached by a jury after eight days of deliberation.
His attorneys argued that he mistakenly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake and panicked when the vehicle raced into the open-air market. But prosecutors said he was careless to the point of criminal negligence and lacked remorse.
"He looked at what he had done, essentially shrugged his shoulders and said, `Oops,"' prosecutor Ann Ambrose told the jury.
Weller's 1992 Buick Le Sabre traveled about 300 yards, reaching 60 mph or more as it crashed into food stalls. It finally came to a stop after hitting a ditch, with one victim's body tangled underneath and another's draped across the hood. The victims ranged in age from 7 to 78.
Weller did not testify, but jurors heard a taped interview with police immediately after the crash in which he said he tried everything he could think of to stop the car.
"I tried to take the control knob and jam it into park. Everything. Anything that I thought would stop the action of the car," he said.
Weller faces two to six years on each of the 10 manslaughter counts. Until then, he is prohibited from driving anywhere.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/10/20/market.crash.ap/index.html