Rebecca Grossman, a prominent figure in Los Angeles society, has been convicted of murder and additional charges following the tragic incident involving the fatal collision with two young brothers crossing the street.
According to prosecutors, the 60-year-old was allegedly driving impaired and at high speed in her Mercedes when she struck Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander, 8, at a speed exceeding 70mph.
Grossman’s defense countered that the event was an unfortunate accident and claimed that the boys were initially hit by another vehicle.
The jury unanimously convicted Grossman on all charges related to the 2020 incident: two counts of second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter each, and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death, all felonies. She now faces a potential sentence of 34 years to life behind bars.
The murder charges in the case were considered unusual, notably because Grossman was not also charged with driving under the influence. While her blood alcohol levels did not exceed the legal limit, prosecutors argued that she was impaired due to a combination of alcohol and Valium.
During the trial, Jamie Castro, the deputy district attorney said,
“Rebecca Grossman killed these two children, and she committed murder.”
The verdict brings an end to a lengthy legal process. The tragic accident occurred on September 29, 2020, in Westlake Village, approximately 40 miles (64.37km) from downtown Los Angeles. The Iskander boys were with their family, using a crosswalk while on scooters and skates around 7 pm when they were struck on Triunfo Canyon Road.
Grossman was driving behind Scott Erickson, a retired Dodgers pitcher, with whom prosecutors claimed she had been drinking at a nearby restaurant. The prosecution asserted that Grossman and Erickson were in a romantic relationship at the time.
Witnesses recounted that Erickson, whom they observed to be speeding, maneuvered around the family while Grossman briefly applied the brakes but ultimately collided with them.
After the collision, Grossman continued driving until her car automatically stopped due to a safety feature.
“She had a history of speeding. She’d texted about it,” Castro said. “She acted with disregard for human life.”
During a preliminary hearing, a collision investigator testified that 1.5 seconds prior to the crash, Grossman was driving at 81mph before braking to 73mph, significantly exceeding the 45mph speed limit, as previously reported by the LA Times.
Throughout the month-long trial, the prosecution emphasized text messages from Grossman to a friend. In these messages, Grossman mentioned being distracted by a woman in roller skates – the mother of the Iskander boys – who had fallen by the roadside.
She admitted to turning her head “probably one or two seconds longer than I should have.”
Rebecca Grossman’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, contended that while Grossman may have been distracted, it didn’t necessarily mean she struck the boys.
Grossman, known as a cofounder of the Grossman Burn Foundation with her husband Dr. Peter Grossman, maintained her plea of not guilty throughout the trial. Buzbee asserted that his client was not speeding and consistently shifted blame to Scott Erickson, arguing that he struck the children first.
“She was not impaired, she was not racing, she was not going the speed that they claim, and she never fled the scene,” Buzbee previously stated.
Additionally, Buzbee argued that the incident received inadequate investigation by the police.