Rebecca Grossman, a popular Los Angeles socialite accused of fatally hitting two young siblings as they crossed the street, was found guilty on Friday of murder and other charges.
Prosecutors said the 60-year-old woman was impaired and speeding in her Mercedes, hitting brothers Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander, 8, at more than 110 mph. . Grossman’s defense had argued that what happened was an accident and that the boys were first struck by another car.
A jury convicted Grossman on all charges in the 2020 incident. Two felonies each of second-degree murder and gross negligence causing death, and one felony count of hit-and-run driving causing death. She will have 34 years left in her life sentence.
The murder charge was unusual, the Los Angeles Times reported. report Last month, she was also not charged with drunk driving. Although Grossman’s blood alcohol level did not exceed the legal limit, prosecutors said she was “impaired with alcohol and Valium.”
“Rebecca Grossman killed these two children, and she committed murder,” Assistant District Attorney Jamie Castro said during the trial.
The ruling ends a years-long legal saga. The accident occurred on September 29, 2020 in Westlake Village, about 40 miles (64.37 kilometers) from downtown Los Angeles. The Iskander boys were riding their scooters and skates with their family in a crosswalk when they were struck on Triunfo Canyon Road around 7 p.m.
Grossman chased former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson in his car, and prosecutors said Grossman was drinking with him at a nearby restaurant. According to prosecutors, the two were in a relationship at the time.
Witnesses said Erickson, who was allegedly speeding, swerved around the family, and Grossman briefly applied the brakes before hitting them. She continued down the road, where her car was stopped by a safety feature.
“She had a history of speeding. She was texting about it,” Castro said. “She acted with disregard for her human life.”
Crash investigators testified at a preliminary hearing that Grossman was driving 131 mph 1.5 seconds before the crash and then braked at 113 mph, well above the 45 mph speed limit. LA Times Previously reported.
During the month-long trial, prosecutors also highlighted emails Grossman sent to a friend, in which he was distracted by a woman wearing roller skates, the Iskandar boy’s mother, on the side of the road. There was a collision and “probably one or two people turned their heads,” he said. It was a few seconds longer than necessary. ”
After newsletter promotion
Her attorney, Tony Buzbee, said Grossman was distracted, but that didn’t mean she hit the boys.
Grossman, who co-founded the Grossman Byrne Foundation with her husband, Dr. Peter Grossman, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Buzbee said her client was not speeding and criticized Erickson during the trial, claiming he hit the children first.
“She was not impaired, she was not racing, she was not going as fast as they claim and she did not flee the scene,” he previously said.
He also claimed that the police investigation into the incident was inadequate.
