Police unsure if they'll press charges in California market crash
Friday,July18,2003,6:39 AM
Santa Monica, California-AP -- California authorities say it could be several days before they know if a man whose car plowed through a busy farmers market in Santa Monica can be held criminally liable. Twenty people are still hospitalized, five in critical condition, after police say 86-year-old Russell Weller drove his car through the open-air market. His aging Buick knocked down stalls and hit dozens of people. The crash has left ten people dead.
Police say they're pursuing the crash as if it were a "criminal act." But Police Chief James Butts told A-B-C they might simply find Weller "may not have been as competent as he needed to be to drive."
Authorities have finished collecting evidence at the scene, but might need several more days to finish their investigation.
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