Victim Of Venice Boardwalk Crash Breaks Silence
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A victim of last weekend's Venice Boardwalk crash has spoken out about her anger surrounding the hit-and-run that injured 16 and left one woman dead.
Sereen Boshgezenyan, of Pasadena, was visiting friends in Venice Saturday when she was struck. Wearing a neck brace, and with several scratches on her face and arms, she said she's in so much pain she can't sleep at night.
"I just laid there thinking what happened?" she told KCAL9/CBS2's Brittney Hopper.
"I just had so much shock and trauma. I could not move."
Boshgezenyan is an avid horseback rider who is studying to become a veterinarian.
"It angers me because I ride horses and I can't do something that I love and that I'm supposed to be doing," she said.
Boshgezenyan remains thankful to those who came her aid after she was hit, and acknowledged she's fortunate her injuries weren't more severe.
"I'm so thankful I'm alive and walking," she said.
Boshgezenyan is expected to make a full recovery.
Colorado transient Nathan Louis Campbell is meanwhile accused of purposely driving his Dodge Avenger onto the popular tourist hub at speeds of more than 50 mph. He was arrested Saturday night after he turned himself into authorities.
The 38-year-old has been charged with 16 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and 17 counts of hit-and-run in connection to the incident. He pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and several other criminal charges Tuesday.
Campbell, who is being held on $1.48 million bail, has an arrest record that includes offenses in four different states since 2002.
Alice Gruppioni, 32, was killed, and 16 others were injured in the crash.
Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said an autopsy determined that the cause of her death was blunt-force trauma to the head and neck, and it has been classified as a homicide.
Campbell's public defender, Philip Dube, has defended his client. Dube says the crash was not an intentional act.
(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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