TWISTS OF FATE HOW SOME LIVED, SOME DIED IN SANTA MONICA TIMING KEPT MANY AWAY FROM DISASTER.

Byline: Michael Gougis Staff Writer

SANTA MONICA - With flowers and prayers, offerings of cash and compassion, they came Thursday to the scene of the farmers market tragedy to honor the dead and to recall their own close brushes with death.

A man who normally shopped at the Wednesday street market had been called away by work. A woman donating blood for the victims had decided to skip this week's market. A man told of stopping with his family to listen to a street musician, or they might have been killed when a car careened through the market on Arizona Avenue about 1:35 p.m. Wednesday.

``This just shows how short life can be. It is a tragedy,'' said Lauren Rau, 18, of Santa Monica.

She dropped off flowers at an impromptu shrine at the base of a bronze dolphin sculpture near the site of the crash that killed 10 and injured dozens more.

And she took flowers to the home of Russell Weller, the 86-year-old driver who told police he had tried to step on the brakes but mistakenly hit the accelerator, sending his Buick sedan plowing into the crowded outdoor market, scattering bodies, produce and booths into a scene witnesses described as a war zone.

``I think he needs our compassion right now - he's clearly not a criminal,'' she added.

The investigation into the incident is continuing, and it could take days before police decide whether to charge Weller.

Santa Monica Police Chief James Butts said the investigation was ongoing, but ``it looks as though there might be some negligence as far as his capacity to drive safely.''

A police spokesman said a search of Weller's home found evidence of recent damage caused by a vehicle at Weller's home garage, but they had not determined who had caused it. The elderly man tested clean for drugs and alcohol.

California Highway Patrol officers are checking the brakes and other equipment on Weller's badly damaged 1992 Buick LeSabre.

A videotape was shown on several local television stations of a 1993 minor crash involving Weller and his car at a friend's birthday party at a residence in Montecito. Chuck Morrell said he thought little of the videotape he made until he saw Weller after the crash Wednesday.

Weller's attorney released a statement calling Wednesday's tragedy ``an unintentional and unfortunate accident,'' and saying Weller is cooperating with investigators.

On the Promenade Mall, which bisects the street where Weller's fatal drive took place, some of the stores closest to the tragedy remained closed.

``Our hearts are with the victims and their families,'' read a neatly printed sign taped to the door of the Light House Royal Seafood Buffet.

Street musician Wendell Mew clutched an e-mail from a man who had stopped to listen to the music en route to the market.

``We were going to the produce market when I saw you playing the sax and we stopped to listen,'' wrote Edwin Vasquez. ``I don't know what would have happened to us if you were not there at that precise moment. You have perhaps saved my life and my family's, and for that I don't have the words to express my gratitude.''

Herb Bax, 69, of Los Angeles, said he got tied up working or would have been at the market.

``I feel lucky. I'm usually there,'' Bax said. ``I've lived 69 years, I'm likely to live a little longer. I'm just living a day at a time.''

The tragedy moved Mark Abbondante, 45, of Lake Arrowhead to walk nearly five miles from his girlfriend's home to the shrine - a collection of candles, flowers and handwritten notes of support - and bow his head in prayer.

``I just feel for the man who hit them, and my heart goes out to the victims,'' Abbondante said. ``But we will get over this. God bless them.''

The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce said it had received more than $10,000 in donations to a fund for the victims and their family members.

And volunteers with the American Red Cross who were at the scene until midnight Wednesday were back Thursday, offering counseling for those who were overcome by the tragedy.

``I had a woman show up last night, hours later, asking what happened, and when we told her, she just broke down,'' said Bill Bauer, a Red Cross volunteer who spent more than an hour with mental health counselors himself after he left the scene last night.

``Virtually nothing prepares you for this. We try to tell them that it's OK to be upset, that it's a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.''

Michael Gougis, [phone]

michael.gougis(at)dailynews.com

HOW TO GIVE AND GET HELP

Here are resource numbers for those who want to give or get help in the wake of Wednesday's tragic crash at the Santa Monica farmers market.

--The American Red Cross has issued an appeal for blood donations, especially type O-negative. Call (800) GIVE LIFE.

--The Westwood Village farmers market has set up a fund to help crash victims. Send donations to WVFM Accident Fund, 914 Westwood Blvd., Suite 239, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

--The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health has set up a 24-hour counseling hotline at [phone].

--The Red Cross will provide mental health counseling from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today in Santa Monica at the Third Street Promenade, Arizona Avenue and Third Street, and at the Ken Edwards Center, 1527 Fourth St.

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(color) Fariba Cohen pauses for a moment at a memorial filled with flowers in front of an Arizona Avenue coffee shop near where 10 people were killed and dozens hurt.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

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HOW TO GIVE AND GET HELP (see text)