An Elderly Driver's
Criminal Nightmare

January 7, 2004
by Debra Opri - Attorney and Legal Analyst

With the filing of criminal charges for felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence against an 87 year old man today in Santa Monica, California, for the death of ten innocent victims, came a new phase in the fight against elderly drivers: find a scapegoat.

I don't mean to suggest this old man deserved less. What I want to throw out there is the question, "Is that all that's going to be done," and "is it enough?"

I was a guest on the O'Reilly Factor discussing this very issue and it's a difficult one, because there is no simple yes or no answer as to whether or not this man should have been charged. This issue is not cut and dry. In fact, it's very messy.

It is now six months since this tragedy, wherein an elderly driver accelerated down a busy city street full of pedestrians who were using it for a weekly farmer's market. And, other than a criminal investigation into whether or not to charge an 87 year old man with criminal manslaughter, nothing - absolutely nothing - was done to make that street safer for the pedestrians who walk on it weekly for a farmer's market after this tragedy.

The newspapers so intrepidly let us know that serious consideration had been given as to whether to charge this old man with criminal homicide, however, the intent to kill could not be determined with certainty. (Would someone, please, give me a break here!)

As we all know, criminal prosecution serves two purposes: to punish and to rehabilitate. So tell me. How does the prosecution of an 87 year old man who has already lost his license, and who has now become a self-imposed recluse, further punish him? And where does the rehabilitation come in? Really, I'm serious. Just what will be accomplished in prosecuting a man, who has been a law abiding citizen his entire life, and a well loved, community involved man who never did anything to hurt anyone? The answer is, nothing.

What we should be looking at is how to avoid this type and kind of tragedy from ever happening again. We should be looking to the City of Santa Monica, and all other cities for that matter, for ways to improve the safety of city streets for pedestrian use, in this instance, farmer's markets, and any other pedestrian functions that are held. Simply put, the use of street barricades that would prevent runaway vehicles from coming into contact with pedestrians to begin with.

Runaway vehicles that are not only driven by elderly persons who have decreased sensory skills, but also those driven by people who suffer sudden medical emergencies such as seizures or heart attacks. And what about the drivers who are fleeing a crime scene, such as police chases, etc.? Mostly, what about the drunk drivers?

What I'm trying to say is, there will always be a reason why a vehicle goes out of control, and, we must understand that this is a fact of life. The emphasis, then, is to emphasize the preventive measures. Street barricades are an easy decision. Why then, did the city not erect barricades for this same farmer's market after this incident? Why was it left to the vendors who operate their stands at the farmers market to protect themselves by parking their vehicles across the street to prevent any vehicles from entering?

And what of the preventive measures of the elderly drivers, themselves? Why didn't Mr. Weller, the individual charged in this tragedy for killing ten people and injuring 63 others, not have his license revoked years earlier when he was found to have been involved in incidents wherein he lost control of his vehicle? Why didn't his loved ones report him, or remove his keys from his possession? Why wasn't he required to submit to regular DMV testing as a few states are now doing, like New Hampshire? If Mr. Weller really did have a medical condition as his defense attorneys now state, why didn't his doctor report him to the DMV?

If we're thinking of these as easy solutions, why then is our only solution currently to charge an old man with felony manslaughter? Doesn't sound like a solution to me, folks, but rather a feeding frenzy to keep the masses happy that this old man is 'getting his'.

Is this really a solution, or just a knee jerk reaction.

It's apparently the best solution for the City of Santa Monica because it takes the heat off their problem of not making our streets safer for pedestrians.

In conclusion, while it is a tragedy that this elderly driver killed ten innocent victims and injured 63 others before ultimately bringing his vehicle to a stop only because it could no longer travel any further due to the trapped body beneath it, it is a worse tragedy that we don't understand the futility of this criminal prosecution, wherein this man will never see a day in jail, and the City of Santa Monica will amass great debt in prosecuting a man who has already sentenced himself to his own personal hell.

Let our purpose be to save others. Let the only purpose of this criminal prosecution for felony vehicular manslaughter be to teach us not to waste our time with lessons in futility.

I wish the loved ones of the victims and of Mr. Weller this: let something be done that this tragedy cannot be repeated. Let that something begin with the right people taking responsibility, and taking action.

 

 

From the courtroom to your living room, this has been another edition of THE OPRI OPINION.