Victims in deadly Venice boardwalk crash describe horror, agony of attack
Nathan Louis Campbell, right, with attorney James Cooper III before closing arguments in Campbell’s trial in May.
A man convicted of deliberately driving his car onto the Venice boardwalk, killing an Italian newlywed and injuring 17 others, lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday and heard three victims describe the agony he caused.
Nathan Louis Campbell was found guilty in June of second-degree murder in the death of Alice Gruppioni, an Italian tourist visiting California with her husband on their honeymoon. Campbell also was found guilty on several counts of assault with a deadly weapon and hit-and-run charges.
Defense attorney James Cooper challenged the verdict, arguing in a motion for a new trial that two jurors committed misconduct that prevented a fair trial.
The jury’s foreman, Cooper alleged, prejudiced the jury by immediately voicing his opinion on the case as deliberations began. Another juror, he alleged, defied a court order by copying her notes into a personal notebook and taking them home to analyze, possibly consulting outside sources of information.
The allegations were based on a statement by a third juror.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathryn Solorzano denied the motion, saying that neither of those actions rose to the level of jury misconduct.
During closing arguments in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Deputy Dist. Atty. Victor Avila urged jurors to convict Campbell of murder and other charges, describing him as frustrated, angry and intent on inflicting pain on others in the Aug. 3, 2013, incident.
Upset after a botched effort to buy drugs, Campbell got into his Dodge Avenger and decided to jump a curb, maneuver past barriers meant to block vehicle access and plow through the packed boardwalk, the prosecutor argued.
The prosecutor told jurors that Gruppioni’s body remained on the hood of Campbell’s car for 300 feet before sliding off. He showed the jury a photograph of her lifeless body sprawled on the concrete moments after the crash.
On Wednesday, three of the 17 injured victims faced Campbell, who fidgeted in orange jail scrubs as he listened.
Nancy Martinez walked slowly with a cane and spoke softly into the microphone as she described that she can barely walk, let alone run and dance, as she loved to do before she and her boyfriend, Jose Gutierrez, decided to take a walk on the Venice boardwalk that day.
“If only I could understand why … there is no logical reason why someone would drive that fast and try to kill people,” she said in Spanish.
Gutierrez said he can no longer hold a job and often wakes up unable to lift himself from bed.
“It’s really hard for me to keep going forward, but I have to,” he said. “I can’t go on like this.”
Judy Fox said that what began as a pleasurable weekend walk with family turned to horror when she saw Campbell’s car barreling toward her. She is terrified of large crowds, cars and crosswalks.
“I’m left with my heart pounding, racing, nervousness, sweating, sometimes a ringing in my ears,” she said. “I’ll always ask why? Why would someone rob so many people of so much?”
Campbell is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 25. He faces a possible life sentence in prison.
Avila he said he expects additional victims to speak before sentencing, including members of the Gruppioni family.
The Gruppioni family filed a lawsuit last year against the city and county, alleging officials failed to provide adequate protection for pedestrians on the busy walkway.
For more court news, follow @sjceasar.
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