Rebecca Grossman, ex-Dodger found liable for crash that killed two boys; jury awards $176 million - BERITAJA

Rebecca Grossman and erstwhile awesome leaguer Scott Erickson are to blasted for the deaths of 2 young brothers who were struck by Grossman’s SUV successful a Westlake Village crosswalk, a assemblage decided Wednesday.

Grossman, 62, is already serving 15 years to life successful situation aft being convicted of second-degree execution for fatally striking Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, pinch her conveyance connected Sept. 29, 2020.

A jury, aft an eight-week trial, awarded the boys’ parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, and their younger brother, Zachary, $176 cardinal successful wrongful decease and affectional distress damages.

Erickson, 58, was successful a abstracted SUV up of Grossman’s conveyance and besides was negligent successful the deadly crash, the assemblage found. Although it was Grossman’s Mercedes that struck the boys, jurors recovered that the brace “acted successful performance pinch each different successful the people of their activities starring to the fatal collision.”

Jurors decided that Grossman besides acted pinch malice and oppression and Erickson acted pinch malice, oppression, aliases fraud. That determination intends the assemblage could besides rumor punitive damages, which could consequence successful millions much being awarded. A 2nd shape of the proceedings to woody pinch those damages is group to statesman Thursday.

According to witnesser grounds astatine the criminal and civilian trials, the brace had been drinking margaritas astatine a Westlake Village cantina earlier they decided to get down the instrumentality successful their abstracted SUVs and thrust to Grossman’s location to watch a statesmanlike debate.

Around the aforesaid time, Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, were pinch their mother and younger related approaching a crosswalk astatine Triunfo Canyon Road. Experts testified that Erickson and Grossman were speeding on the road. As the family entered the intersection, Erickson drove by them and avoided a collision. But Grossman did not and struck the 2 boys astatine 73 mph, according to master witnesses.

The Iskander family sued Grossman and Erickson arsenic portion of a wrongful decease lawsuit, claiming the brace were negligent successful the September 2020 crash. Their attorney, Brian Panish, asked the jurors to grant much than $430 cardinal to his clients, arguing the grounds showed that Grossman and Erickson were thoroughfare racing and the verdict would beryllium a “day of reckoning” for the pair.

“It’s not an mishap erstwhile you speed, and you drink, and you thrust impaired,” said Panish, connected behalf of Nancy and Karim Iskander, and their surviving son, Zachary. “Who would enactment for illustration that isolated from personification who thinks they could do immoderate they want and there’s nary consequences?”

Jurors successful Van Nuys began deliberating Tuesday greeting aft closing arguments, wherever attorneys for Grossman and Erickson based on that, though the incident was tragic, location was nary grounds they were racing aliases impaired that would warrant an grant of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Grossman is the co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and is the the woman of salient integrative surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman. They were separated astatine the clip of the crash. Erickson is simply a erstwhile pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

During the trial, Nancy Iskander testified that she began to transverse Triunfo Canyon Road astatine Saddle Mountain Drive connected inline skates pinch her youngest son, Zachary, adjacent to her connected his scooter. Mark, connected a skateboard, and Jacob, besides wearing inline skates, followed a small much than an arm’s magnitude behind. She said Erickson’s achromatic Mercedes narrowly missed her and her boys.

Rebecca Grossman, left, astatine the Van Nuys Courthouse during her criminal proceedings successful February 2024.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Grossman’s conveyance deed the boys while going 73 mph, Panish told the jury. Mark’s assemblage was recovered much than 250 feet distant pinch the vehicle’s grille marks connected his body. Jacob was recovered connected the different broadside of the road, experts testified.

Through Grossman’s criminal proceedings arsenic good arsenic the civilian lawsuit successful Van Nuys, Erickson’s attorneys sought to abstracted his client’s behaviour from that of his ex-lover, Grossman, saying they were not racing aft leaving the restaurant. During closing arguments earlier the assemblage Tuesday, Grossman’s attorney, Esther Holm, echoed that claim.

She told jurors that her customer was not impaired by intoxicant aliases valium during the clang and was walking astatine about 52 mph, about 7 mph complete the velocity limit, nor was she racing. Grossman did not effort to time off the segment aft the crash, Holm said.

“She wasn’t racing; that’s each speculation,’’ Holm said, maintaining that Grossman ne'er saw the children earlier her car struck them because she was distracted by the boys’ mother “diving retired of the way” of Erickson’s vehicle.

Karim Iskander, right, and woman Nancy, center, extracurricular the Van Nuys courthouse successful June 2024.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Beyond that, Holm told jurors, trees and cars constricted the motorists’ expertise to spot the pedestrian crossing motion that warns of the crosswalk ahead, and she said information from Grossman’s Mercedes had anomalies that mean they should disregard it.

She besides reminded the assemblage that the metropolis had received a title about that intersection before, saying, “The city’s domiciled is important arsenic overmuch arsenic Ms. Grossman’s and Mr. Erickson’s. The metropolis was connected announcement of the problem.”

Jeff Braun, Erickson’s lawyer, emphasized to the assemblage that his customer ne'er deed either boy, and that the grounds showed the retired pitcher was not astatine responsibility aliases negligent successful the deaths.

“My customer made immoderate stupid, stupid decisions related to this case,” he said. “My customer lied to the police. He lied to his lawyers successful this case. And that’s a hard, difficult spread to excavation retired of.”

He based on to jurors Monday that a “reasonable sum for this nonaccomplishment is $10 million.”

Panish said Braun’s mathematics would magnitude to $340 a time successful position of the boys’ lives, and he was seeking about $430 million.

“She speeds and kills them; he’s racing her,” Panish said. “Why are we here? Because they don’t get it. They don’t admit a azygous spot of responsibility.”