Nathan Louis Campbell smashed his car into a group of pedestrians, leaving one woman dead and 11 other injured during the 37th annual Festival of the Chariots parade in Venice Boardwalk last Saturday.
What started as a happy and peaceful festival quickly turned into a rampage as a man driving his Dodge Avenger rammed into the packed crowd. It left 32-year old Alice Gruppioni of Italy dead, who was in the festival with her husband for their honeymoon. Among the 11 other injured, one is in critical condition and two others have serious injuries.
Witnesses say that the suspect "was looking for blood", with Landon Blackburn telling ABC Los Angeles station KABC-TV, "That guy's intention was to kill people." Katherine Blackburn tells CNN affiliate KABC, "It was horrible. I mean it was like something out of a movie, something you would never expect to see."
Three people were slammed to the ground. The car swerved to the left and hit three more customers who were looking at Turkish glassware and catholic tapestries. 42-year old vendor Walter Estrada shares, "He was trying to kill everyone," and continues "It happened so fast. I was trying to protect myself."
As for aid and rescue, witnesses share that the help from the police and firemen took a while who arrived 15 minutes after the crash.
After covering a quarter of a mile of the entire boardwalk with bloodshed and traumatized people, 38-yeard old Campbell fled the scene and later on turned himself in. He is charged with murder and is being held on a $1 bail. The police still do not know the motives behind the devastating incident. They also further state that there are no indications of terrorism as of now.
The Venice Boardwalk was known to be a hub of culture. Shops, galleries, skate parks and tattoos for the eccentrics thrive in the area, which draws over 150,000 people during the summer.
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