LOS ANGELES – On Friday, officials announced that Rebecca Grossman has been found guilty of fatally striking 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his 8-year-old brother Jacob with her car while speeding through a Westlake Village crosswalk in 2020.
In a Los Angeles County courtroom, the 60-year-old mother was convicted on all five counts, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and hit-and-run resulting in death.
The nine-man, three-woman jury delivered the verdict on the second day of deliberations, spending a total of about nine hours reviewing evidence. They rejected the defense’s claim that Grossman’s then-boyfriend, former Dodgers player Scott Erickson, was responsible for the fatal incident on September 29, 2020.
Legal expert RJ Manuelian found the swift verdict unsurprising, citing Grossman’s erratic driving, admission of attempting to restart her vehicle after the accident, and her actions post-collision as evidence of her culpability. Manuelian emphasized that her intoxication with both Valium and alcohol at the time demonstrated recklessness and a disregard for others’ safety.
The defense aimed to shift blame to Erickson, who was driving alongside Grossman through the crosswalk in his own car. However, Manuelian noted that the defense failed to produce concrete evidence supporting their theory and highlighted that officers at the scene asserted the physical evidence belonged solely to Grossman’s car.
The defense’s decision not to call Erickson as a witness likely strengthened the prosecution’s case and reinforced Grossman’s guilt in the eyes of the jury, according to Manuelian.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Grossman and Erickson had been out for drinks earlier that evening, heading toward her nearby home in separate vehicles when Grossman’s white Mercedes-Benz SUV struck the boys in a marked crosswalk on Triunfo Canyon Road.
The sentencing for Grossman is scheduled for April 10, with a potential prison term of 34 years to life. Despite the possibility of an appeal, she was taken into custody following the verdict announcement.
