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American Morning

Tragedy in Santa Monica

Aired July 17, 2003 - 09:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The tragedy in Santa Monica, nine people dead after a car driven by an 86-year-old man plowed through a crowded street market. More than 50 people were injured yesterday, many of them critically.
CNN's Miguel Marquez is at the site in Santa Monica -- Miguel, good morning.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Police say that 86-year-old Russell Weller has a valid California driver's license. It has no restrictions. They also say that he had just left the post office yesterday, which is about a block from where the farmer's market starts, but five blocks from where we are now. He also told police that he apparently was -- had his foot on the brake and it may have slipped off and hit the gas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): It looked like a twister had ripped through a Santa Monica street, a trail of dead and injured after a car plows through a farmer's market.

LORI CAULFIELD, MARKET FARMER: It was like a Sherman tank barreling through, hitting everything and just going right over people.

MARQUEZ: The man behind the wheel, 86 years old. He told police he tried to stop his car, but he couldn't. Among the dead, a 3-year- old girl.

CHIEF JAMES T. BUTTS, JR., SANTA MONICA POLICE DEPARTMENT: And they were confronted with the single most devastating accident scene that I've ever witnessed in 30 years in law enforcement.

MARQUEZ: Hundreds of witnesses could only watch as the man hit person after person for more than three blocks. Some witnesses said his speed was excessive and it appeared, if anything, he was accelerating.

GREG GRAEFF, WITNESS: I saw a triage going on. Probably about 40 people got all the way down to the other end where the car was. The car was wrecked up pretty bad, a dead body in front covered. I've never seen anything like it. It's totally incredible.

MARQUEZ: On the roof of the car, two shoes and a cucumber, a disturbing reminder of what had been only moments before a peaceful day at a seaside farmer's market.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Soledad, let me bring you up to date on the investigation. We spoke to the Santa Monica police chief just a short time ago. He says that the physical evidence here at the scene should be processed by this morning some time. He says that they are then going through the testimony of about 100 witnesses and they are synthesizing that. At that point -- they also went to Mr. Weller's home last night, where they conducted a search warrant, looking for any evidence of a diminished ability to drive on Mr. Weller's part. The only thing he said that was interesting out of that was the fact that the garage appeared to have been hit by the car. Not entirely clear whether or not that means anything to this investigation yet.

He said it'll take another week or two to synthesize all that information and then they may bring manslaughter charges -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Miguel, has the 86-year-old driver, Russell Weller, said anything on his own behalf?

MARQUEZ: He has not said anything on his own behalf at this point, except to police, where he said that he was trying to stop his car but couldn't. Police do say that they are trying to figure out if the car had any problems with it. They haven't ruled out anything. The car may have had some sort of mechanical problem.

But his lawyer did talk last night and here's a little of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM BIANCO, WELLER FAMILY ATTORNEY: This was an unintentional and unfortunate accident. Mr. Weller is very shaken up but his thoughts tonight are with the victims and their families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: You can imagine, Soledad, there is just tragedy all around in this case, no good way to look at this thing. The farmer's market here is, it's what Santa Monica is, apparently, on Wednesdays, it's Wednesday mornings. And it's going to be a long time before it's back up and running -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Miguel Marquez, thanks.

Rescue workers were at the scene within minutes according to witnesses.

Tom Viscount of the Red Cross was there organizing emergency assistance. Today he'll be offering counseling at the site.

And he joins us this morning from Santa Monica.

Tom, nice to see you.

Good morning.

And thanks for joining us.

TOM VISCOUNT, RED CROSS: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: You arrived right after the accident. What did you see? VISCOUNT: There was a lot of carnage, a lot of rescue workers, a lot of confused victims and people that were working down there that had nowhere to go. It was a mess.

O'BRIEN: We're talking about 55 people injured, many of them critically, obviously dead bodies strewn around, as well.

What was your first step in trying to help the victims?

VISCOUNT: Well, what we did, we assisted the emergency workers to make sure -- we set up canteen service so we could help them do their jobs, because they were there most of the night. They're still here now and we assisted them with food and water. We have mental health professionals on the scene. And we also helped the victims, the victims that weren't injured, because they were shaken up. And down there we also got them to a shel -- an evacuation center to get them away, because the cars were impounded for a number of hours. They couldn't get to their vehicles, the people that were selling product down her and produce. They were shaken up. They've been here for most of the night.

O'BRIEN: The chief of police in Santa Monica, Chief James Butts, called this, "The single most devastating scene that I have witnessed in 30 years of law enforcement."

You have obviously taken part in many rescues and the aftermath of many horrible incidents, including 9/11.

How would you compare what you saw yesterday to what you've experienced in your career?

VISCOUNT: Well, for such a small town to have something like this happen, I've never seen anything like it myself, and I think everyone that was involved with this had the same feeling. It was horrible, unfortunate, and people that had been working on these sort of things for years, they felt it was the worst thing they'd ever seen, too.

O'BRIEN: Tom, we mentioned that you're going to be out there today providing counseling.

What do you say to people who've lost a family member or who've, who has a family member who's been terribly injured or maybe is just shaken up and works in the area?

VISCOUNT: Unfortunately, we can just offer them solace and comfort, let them know we're there for them and we also can be doing that with these, some of the emergency workers will be doing debriefings for those that are affected maybe next week. We do that on this kind of procedure and in these kind of incidents.

But, yes, it's a difficult thing. It's really tough to say something that is meaningful. But we're just there to let them talk and let them express how they're feeling, basically.

O'BRIEN: The family of the 86-year-old man who's accused in all of this, the family offered an apology last night.

Do you think that apology helps bring the healing process a little bit closer for the family members? Or do you think that it doesn't really make a big difference?

VISCOUNT: Well, I think it's a little soon, but I feel sorry for everyone that's affected by this because it obviously was an accident and I can imagine how he's feeling. I can imagine how all the victims are feeling and the victims' families. It's really, there's really not a really good spin for this.

O'BRIEN: How long do you think you're going to be out there working, Tom?

VISCOUNT: There'll be, we'll be supporting emergency workers throughout the day. They'll be cleaning up the scene here and we'll be offering them refreshments and also food if they need it. So we'll be here till they leave, actually.

O'BRIEN: Tom Viscount is with the Red Cross.

Tom, thanks for your time this morning.

Appreciate it.

VISCOUNT: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 17, 2003 - 09:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The tragedy in Santa Monica, nine people dead after a car driven by an 86-year-old man plowed through a crowded street market. More than 50 people were injured yesterday, many of them critically.
CNN's Miguel Marquez is at the site in Santa Monica -- Miguel, good morning.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Police say that 86-year-old Russell Weller has a valid California driver's license. It has no restrictions. They also say that he had just left the post office yesterday, which is about a block from where the farmer's market starts, but five blocks from where we are now. He also told police that he apparently was -- had his foot on the brake and it may have slipped off and hit the gas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): It looked like a twister had ripped through a Santa Monica street, a trail of dead and injured after a car plows through a farmer's market.

LORI CAULFIELD, MARKET FARMER: It was like a Sherman tank barreling through, hitting everything and just going right over people.

MARQUEZ: The man behind the wheel, 86 years old. He told police he tried to stop his car, but he couldn't. Among the dead, a 3-year- old girl.

CHIEF JAMES T. BUTTS, JR., SANTA MONICA POLICE DEPARTMENT: And they were confronted with the single most devastating accident scene that I've ever witnessed in 30 years in law enforcement.

MARQUEZ: Hundreds of witnesses could only watch as the man hit person after person for more than three blocks. Some witnesses said his speed was excessive and it appeared, if anything, he was accelerating.

GREG GRAEFF, WITNESS: I saw a triage going on. Probably about 40 people got all the way down to the other end where the car was. The car was wrecked up pretty bad, a dead body in front covered. I've never seen anything like it. It's totally incredible.

MARQUEZ: On the roof of the car, two shoes and a cucumber, a disturbing reminder of what had been only moments before a peaceful day at a seaside farmer's market.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Soledad, let me bring you up to date on the investigation. We spoke to the Santa Monica police chief just a short time ago. He says that the physical evidence here at the scene should be processed by this morning some time. He says that they are then going through the testimony of about 100 witnesses and they are synthesizing that. At that point -- they also went to Mr. Weller's home last night, where they conducted a search warrant, looking for any evidence of a diminished ability to drive on Mr. Weller's part. The only thing he said that was interesting out of that was the fact that the garage appeared to have been hit by the car. Not entirely clear whether or not that means anything to this investigation yet.

He said it'll take another week or two to synthesize all that information and then they may bring manslaughter charges -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Miguel, has the 86-year-old driver, Russell Weller, said anything on his own behalf?

MARQUEZ: He has not said anything on his own behalf at this point, except to police, where he said that he was trying to stop his car but couldn't. Police do say that they are trying to figure out if the car had any problems with it. They haven't ruled out anything. The car may have had some sort of mechanical problem.

But his lawyer did talk last night and here's a little of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM BIANCO, WELLER FAMILY ATTORNEY: This was an unintentional and unfortunate accident. Mr. Weller is very shaken up but his thoughts tonight are with the victims and their families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: You can imagine, Soledad, there is just tragedy all around in this case, no good way to look at this thing. The farmer's market here is, it's what Santa Monica is, apparently, on Wednesdays, it's Wednesday mornings. And it's going to be a long time before it's back up and running -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Miguel Marquez, thanks.

Rescue workers were at the scene within minutes according to witnesses.

Tom Viscount of the Red Cross was there organizing emergency assistance. Today he'll be offering counseling at the site.

And he joins us this morning from Santa Monica.

Tom, nice to see you.

Good morning.

And thanks for joining us.

TOM VISCOUNT, RED CROSS: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: You arrived right after the accident. What did you see? VISCOUNT: There was a lot of carnage, a lot of rescue workers, a lot of confused victims and people that were working down there that had nowhere to go. It was a mess.

O'BRIEN: We're talking about 55 people injured, many of them critically, obviously dead bodies strewn around, as well.

What was your first step in trying to help the victims?

VISCOUNT: Well, what we did, we assisted the emergency workers to make sure -- we set up canteen service so we could help them do their jobs, because they were there most of the night. They're still here now and we assisted them with food and water. We have mental health professionals on the scene. And we also helped the victims, the victims that weren't injured, because they were shaken up. And down there we also got them to a shel -- an evacuation center to get them away, because the cars were impounded for a number of hours. They couldn't get to their vehicles, the people that were selling product down her and produce. They were shaken up. They've been here for most of the night.

O'BRIEN: The chief of police in Santa Monica, Chief James Butts, called this, "The single most devastating scene that I have witnessed in 30 years of law enforcement."

You have obviously taken part in many rescues and the aftermath of many horrible incidents, including 9/11.

How would you compare what you saw yesterday to what you've experienced in your career?

VISCOUNT: Well, for such a small town to have something like this happen, I've never seen anything like it myself, and I think everyone that was involved with this had the same feeling. It was horrible, unfortunate, and people that had been working on these sort of things for years, they felt it was the worst thing they'd ever seen, too.

O'BRIEN: Tom, we mentioned that you're going to be out there today providing counseling.

What do you say to people who've lost a family member or who've, who has a family member who's been terribly injured or maybe is just shaken up and works in the area?

VISCOUNT: Unfortunately, we can just offer them solace and comfort, let them know we're there for them and we also can be doing that with these, some of the emergency workers will be doing debriefings for those that are affected maybe next week. We do that on this kind of procedure and in these kind of incidents.

But, yes, it's a difficult thing. It's really tough to say something that is meaningful. But we're just there to let them talk and let them express how they're feeling, basically.

O'BRIEN: The family of the 86-year-old man who's accused in all of this, the family offered an apology last night.

Do you think that apology helps bring the healing process a little bit closer for the family members? Or do you think that it doesn't really make a big difference?

VISCOUNT: Well, I think it's a little soon, but I feel sorry for everyone that's affected by this because it obviously was an accident and I can imagine how he's feeling. I can imagine how all the victims are feeling and the victims' families. It's really, there's really not a really good spin for this.

O'BRIEN: How long do you think you're going to be out there working, Tom?

VISCOUNT: There'll be, we'll be supporting emergency workers throughout the day. They'll be cleaning up the scene here and we'll be offering them refreshments and also food if they need it. So we'll be here till they leave, actually.

O'BRIEN: Tom Viscount is with the Red Cross.

Tom, thanks for your time this morning.

Appreciate it.

VISCOUNT: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com