Car accident at farmers' market

[slknight]

8 people were killed at a Santa Monica farmers' market when a car crashed into the crowd. All you SoCal BB'ers out there, I hope you are safe.

Susan

[Julia1Pin]

Susan - It's horrible. Thankfully I'm sitting at work.

[Wendy w]

That's terrible. I wonder if it was intentional or if the car went out of control.:(

[cookinator]

My first thought went to Gail as I think she lives close to that area. I hope she's OK.

[Ms. Chevious]

I almost posted as well, its awful! I've been to that Farmer's Market many times and I have no idea how someone could have NOT seen the market - they block off the streets and its a slow moving traffic area anyway. News said it was an elderly man - 40 people injured totaled, 6 dead so far including a 2 year old.
:(

[wallycat]

I just heard about this on national news.
Very sad.
The driver was in his 70's and appeared confused...no more details given.
What a horrible tragedy.

[colleency]

It's making me feel sick. I go to that farmer's market about twice a month on Saturdays.

[stefania4]

How awful.

I did send the link to my parents, though. They stopped speaking to me for a while when I filed a report with the state to have my grandfather's driver's license revoked. They said I was "stealing his freedom." I said that since he'd had two serious accidents - and didn't remember either of them - he was a disaster waiting to happen.

[slknight]

So where's Gail? I hope she's ok. Gail, please check in when you get a chance!

Susan

[Canice]

Heart-breaking. And 15 of the 55 injured are in critical condition.
Stephanie, I hope this doesn't sound awful, but when I heard about the driver I thought of your post last year, and your concern for the safety of others. I understand now -as I did then- what motivated you to take that brave action.

[Beth]

I saw the headline on the home page when I came on line and was going to check it after looking here. That is so sad, but guys, I have creepy chills remembering how I was sobbing when they loaded me into the ambulance, thanking God and anyone listening that I had not injured anyone else when I passed out at the wheel a couple of months ago. I ache for them all. So sad.

[ChristieinMB]

I'm not Gail, but I live near her, she doesn't live close to that area. She lives in Torrance, it is south of Santa Monica where this occurred.
This afternoon I went into my local bike shop to meet my husband, there was an obnoxious man telling my husband a story, he was so loud. Then when I listened, I realized he was relaying the story, he had just come from there and was very upset. I then understood why he was so hyper. A very sad story.
Christie

[RobinC]

Such a terrible tragedy. :(

A week or two ago we had a somewhat related incident in Portland. A 91-year old driver veered off the road and stuck 4 (I think) people. A mother and her infant were killed.

Stephanie, I applaud your courage to make such a difficult decision regarding your grandfather. I wish more people had the courage and compassion that you do.

[MKSquared]

I've just been looking at all the photos of the accident scene. It's so horrible to even imagine ... :( SoCal BB people, please check in.

[MKSquared]

I've just been looking at all the photos of the accident scene. It's so horrible to even imagine ... :( SoCal BB people, please check in.

[Peggy C.]

Wow how sad, it's hard to fathom that many people being injured by a single vehicle.

[Jessica]

Apparently, the driver was 86 and confused and going very fast. I am horrified at this accident and I sincerely hope it brings some national attention to a fast-growing problem. We are a car-dependent society and that was fine when most Americans were young and healthy. Now, our aged population is increasing and many older people live in places with little or no public transportation. No wonder they feel they have to hang onto their cars.

I am hoping the rest of the victims recover. SoCal folks--I hope you and your loved ones all are OK.

[lhall]

Like Stephanie, this is exaclty the reason we pushed to have my grandmother's license revoked. My aunt turned in the paperwork. My grandmother's car was totalled shortly after the paperwork was turned in. I'm not sure if the wreck was before or after her license was revoked or who's fault it was. Anyways, she's 87 and we are all much much happier to have her off the roads.

It's just awful.

Leigh

[Kismet]

What a horrible tragedy! Very, very scary!

In last week's Newsweek, the "My Turn" column was about vision impared drivers. I commend the author for knowing her limits and getting off the road, but the comment from the trucker scared me a lot!

Here's a link to the article: http://www.msnbc.com/news/934701.asp?0dm=s15Ak

[Pico]

I was quite surprised to hear about this yesterday--and very saddened. I must have been subconsciously thinking about it last night, since I dreamed that the victims were people I knew. I woke up and called my best friend to make sure she was all right! If only the real friends and families could do the same...

[Lrimerman]

We are visiting So Cal this week and Tuesday night drove to Santa Monica Pier, I could not believe when I was watching tv in the hotel yesterday that this had happened. It is so horrific. Apparently the man said he stepped on the gas instead of the brake and was trying to stop the car. Sounds like maybe he was disoriented. The police have released him according to the news.

The farmer's market sounds like a neat place, It is scary to think that if I had known about it I may have gone with the kids while DH was working.

Hope everyone from the area is ok. I feel so bad for the families of the victims (and the family of the driver).

Peace to all.

Lisa

[Gail]

Thanks for your concern, everyone. Obviously, I'm fine.

And thanks, Christie, for setting them straight (though I do travel all around the LA Basin on occasion and used to work within feet of where this happened.) What a terrifying thing. Still trying to understand why the man traveled as far as he did before coming to a stop...

[Beth]

Gail, glad you are okay. Not hearing from you, I did wonder if you might have been in the area for some reason. I sometimes went to farmer's markets outside of our immediate area -- if I was in the area anyway or needed something special.

What I heard on the radio yesterday was that he got confused and thought the accelerator was the brake. That happened to my MIL at the beginning of her Alztheimer's (that's not spelled right is it? I have a mental block for that word), but it was at the end of her driveway and all that happened was a broken headlight on another car. Scared her and she stopped driving after that.

I don't think I've heard how far he went. When I passed out, I went 3/4 of a mile from the last place I rememebred being, and I wasn't going that fast. I think I felt something just before I passed out and instinctively lifted my foot from the gas, but I could have just as easily pressed it with dead weight when I went out. My dad had a mini-stroke where he basically froze at his desk -- couldn't move and couldn't talk, but was aware of everything.

There are a lot of reasons something like this could happen with someone old or young. Maybe this guy shouldn't have been driving for some time, but he may have been fine 10 minutes before. Could happen to you at any age. Something like it happened to me. I'm sure everyone first thought I must be drunk or have fallen alseep. Let's try to keep open minds and make sure we don't drive when we shouldn't (cold medicine, pain killers, fatigue, as well as alcohol, etc.)