Mental incompetence...I mean...you have *two* feet...why not put the other foot down, too? Might have hit the brake w/that one.
Originally posted by: Rudee
Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle
now 9 confirmed dead and the police say no sign of medical problems for the driver, simply hit the gas instead of the brake
Simply hit the gas instead of the brake? WTF? That would take a person all of a fraction of a second to correct that and apply the brake. This a$$hole drove at high speed for blocks.
Originally posted by: dman
I don't know what switches in your head to think that the brake is the gas all of a sudden, but it happens more than I'd like to hear about.
Usually it's a story about a person driving through a window of a store/restuarant/etc. More often than not, nothing bad happends to the pedestrians. But, sometimes it's bad. This time it was really bad.
I also think there should be a driver re-tests but I don't think it would catch this stuff. Not the 'normal' test anyway. 99% of the time they might be fine, then one day something just clicks wrong and the gas is the brake pedal...
You could have a special Dr. exam, but, even that might not find anything.
Originally posted by: gwlam12
86 years old. I think that is too old to drive.
Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Originally posted by: gwlam12
86 years old. I think that is too old to drive.
Yeah, we'll see what you say when you're 86...
John Ellis, 68, a building manager from Santa Monica, said he overheard Weller say very calmly to a woman who appeared to be an off-duty police officer: "How many people did I hit?"
"It wasn't even a question," said Ellis. "It seemed like more of a statement. He was very calm."
Kahmiim Gufur, who sells sprouts at the market, said he saw a man help Weller out of the car and ask him, "Do you know what's going on? Do you know what you're doing?"
"No," Weller said, according to Gufur.
Butts, the police chief, said that when he arrived at the scene, Weller "was talking and appeared confused." However, asked if Weller was lucid, the chief said, "He was speaking and he was lucid, yes."
One neighbor, Anh Gurfield, said she had lived next door to Weller for 35 years. "I just don't understand," she said. "He always drives very carefully. Very slowly."
After police questioned him, Weller, slightly stooped and using a cane, walked out of Santa Monica police headquarters with a grandson, another family member and an attorney.
Asked to comment, he looked at reporters and said "no" several times.
Later, attorney James Bianco spoke to reporters outside Weller's daughter's home in Santa Monica. "Mr. Weller and his family want to express their deepest sympathies to the victims of the tragic accident earlier today and their families," he said.
"This was an unintentional and unfortunate accident. Mr. Weller is very shaken up, but his thoughts are with the victims and their families tonight."