Updated 7:35 PM ET
LOS ANGELES A lawyer for a Colorado man charged with murder and assault for allegedly driving his car down the crowded Venice Beach boardwalk says it was an accident.
Public defender Philip Dube says Nathan Louis Campbell is profoundly sad and didn't intentionally try to hit anyone.
Nathan Luis Campbell, 38, was arrested Saturday night after he turned himself into authorities.
/ CBS Los Angeles
The 38-year-old Campbell was charged Tuesday with 34 counts involving the death of 32-year-old Alice Gruppioni, who was on her honeymoon, and injuries to 16 other people.
Campbell appeared briefly in court, handcuffed and dressed in a blue prison jumpsuit. He pleaded not guilty.
Dube told reporters outside the courtroom it was a horrible accident.
If convicted, Campbell faces up to life in prison.
Prosecutors Tuesday said Campbell maneuvered around a vehicle barrier early Saturday evening and plowed into tourists and vendors, killing Gruppioni. Her new husband, Christian Casadei, was at her side. He suffered minor injuries.
"About our love, you cannot say more than it will remain a dream from which we will never wake," he said.
CBS Los Angeles reported a fundraiser and vigil was held for Gruppioni on the Venice Beach Boardwalk Monday.
Driver deliberately mowed down pedestrians, witnesses say
(Warning: Viewers may find some of the video at left disturbing)
In a statement Monday, Casadei called his wife "an immense gift: a gift that no one can ever understand. She gave happiness and joy to anyone who had the luck to know her.
One person was critically injured and two others were taken to hospitals in serious condition. The 13 others all received less severe injuries.
Little is known about Campbell, who is being held on $1 million bail. No relatives or close friends have emerged since the incident to talk about him, and police have revealed scant details. He has no fixed address or employment.
Campbell appears to have deeper ties to Colorado, where he lived as recently as last year. He was evicted from his apartment in Denver for not paying $655 in rent in March 2012, records show.
He was sentenced to five days in jail after pleading guilty to shoplifting at a Denver supermarket in February 2009. Five months later, he was accused of trespassing at an outdoor mall in Denver and sentenced to 10 days in jail, court records show.
Alice Gruppioni, an Italian tourist, was killed in Venice Beach when a car plowed into a crowd of people on August 3, 2013. She was on her honeymoon.
Police said Campbell initially parked outside a hotel and surveyed the boardwalk, where hundreds of people were sitting at cafes, walking along the seashore or shopping for jewelry, art or other items at vending stands.
Venice Beach witness says boardwalk crash sounded like a bomb
Surveillance video showed a driver getting into the Dodge, steering around a vehicle barrier and careening through the crowd.
Two mannequins and an ATM were knocked down as the car started hitting people. It swerved from side to side, hitting vendors, jewelry sellers, a fortune teller and a tattoo artist.
Witnesses said the car was traveling at least 35 mph. It later turned up on a side street less than 2 miles away.
An autopsy by the Los Angeles County coroner concluded Gruppioni died from blunt-force trauma to the head and neck. Her death has been classified as a homicide.
A makeshift boardwalk memorial for Gruppioni continued to grow Monday, with mourners placing a note in Italian expressing condolences and a painting that reads, "Venice loves you, Alice."
Gruppioni was a general manager for the family business that makes radiators. Her father, Valerio Gruppioni, runs the company and was formerly president of the Bologna soccer team, according to Italian news agency LaPresse.
Gruppioni's aunt said that hours before her niece was killed, she shared stories of her honeymoon travels by phone with her parents in Italy.
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