by A Los Angeles socialite accused of fatally plowing into two young boys in a crossroad was “racing” her boyfriend, a former Los Angeles parker, with whom she had been drinking earlier that day, prosecutors claimed and to try it out this week.
Jury selection in Rebecca Grossman’s trial began Tuesday, but before testimony could begin, her defense attorney is trying to shift the blame for the boys’ tragic deaths to the former MLB player she dated, who went through the crossing seconds before. , The Los Angeles Times reported.
Ms Grossman, 60, faces two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Mark Iskander, 11, and his brother Jacob Iskander, eight, who were killed when she hit them with her Mercedes-Benz SUV as they walked in a marked crosswalk. with her mother Nancy Iskander and five-year-old brother Zachary, on 29 September 2020.
Prosecutors say Ms. Grossman was drinking cocktails at Scott Erickson’s nearby establishment before taking part in a street race through a residential neighborhood in Westlake Village, where she hit the two boys at speeds of up to 70 mph.
She was driving behind Mr. Erickson when the crash occurred on Triunfo Canyon Road, according to testimony by Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators during a preliminary hearing in 2022.
But in court this week, defense attorney Tony Buzbee claimed Los Angeles Sheriff’s investigators did not check Mr. Erickson’s black Mercedes SUV for damage, even though witnesses claim they saw him drive through the marked crosswalk a few seconds before Ms. Grossman.
Mr. Buznee said Mr. Erickson produced the vehicle he was driving for examination in civil litigation after the fatal crash, but alleged that the investigator took his word in a phone interview that he was driving his 2007 Mercedes SUV at the time.
He then showed a photo of a 2016 Mercedes-AMG that Mr Erickson had acquired in May 2019, alleging it was the SUV he was driving that day.
“Why wouldn’t law enforcement look at this vehicle he was driving that night?” asked Mr. Buzbee. “Why didn’t they say, especially when you had a witness, the first witness to give a witness account, that there were two collisions three to five seconds apart? Why wouldn’t they go and look at his vehicle?”
Jury selection began in the trial Tuesday in a Van Nuys courtroom more than three years after the brothers’ deaths.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino, who is now overseeing the trial, ruled this week that the court will be allowed to prove to jurors that Ms. Grossman was in a relationship with Mr. Erickson at the time of the accident.
Ms. Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation, is married to renowned surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman.
At emotional pre-trial hearings in 2022, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shellie Samuels found the defense attorney’s argument that Mr. Grossman was chasing home inaccurate.
“The defendant was in no hurry to get home; she was playing a high-speed game of chicken with Mr. Erickson,” Judge Samuels opined The Los Angeles Times. “I believe the defendant went far beyond gross negligence.”
The cornerstone of the judge’s ruling that the socialite be tried for the murder of the two brothers came from detailed testimony about the speed her car was traveling in a residential area, where the posted limit was 45mph.
Data extracted from her Mercedes SUV showed she hit 81mph just 1.5 seconds before the fatal crash.
Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Apodaca, a traffic crash specialist, testified in preliminary hearings to say he calculated the socialite’s SUV was traveling at 71.7 mph when she first hit the boys, which was a slight adjustment from the speed She was allegedly doing 81mph. through the neighborhood before approaching the intersection.
The boys’ mother, Nancy Iskander, gave a harrowing account of what she saw during that fatal crash in the fall of 2020, when she said the two SUVs “were crashing into each other as if they were playing or racing”.
“They didn’t stop before the intersection. They did not stop at the intersection. They didn’t stop when there was an 11-year-old child on the hood of the car … No one stopped,” she said in a positive account at the time.
Before this week’s trial, Miss Iskander posted an online birthday tribute to her son, Jacob. He would have been 12 years old.
“Happy birthday in heaven Jacob, I miss you, not a second goes by without wanting to be with you,” she wrote. “Jacob doesn’t matter, say his name today when he’s 12 years old.”
Happy birthday in heaven Jacob, I miss you, not a second goes by without my wish to be with you. Jacob was important, say his name today when he was 12 years old. pic.twitter.com/FigOjQIqop
— Nancy Iskander (@isknan) January 13, 2024
Ms. Grossman is charged with two counts of second degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit and run driving resulting in death.
Mr. Erickson, 55, was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving. In February 2022, a judge ordered him to make a public service announcement aimed at high school students about the importance of safe driving. Mr. Erickson denied any wrongdoing.
