Rebecca Grossman and her ex-boyfriend were running drunk when she ran over and killed two young brothers in 2020, an attorney for the children's parents told jurors Friday during opening statements in a civil wrongful death trial.
Grossman, 62, is already serving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of Mark and Jacob Iskander, ages 11 and 8. During her high-profile criminal trial in 2024, Grossman's attorneys tried to portray her then-boyfriend, former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, as the person responsible, and claimed that it was his SUV, not hers, that struck the children first.
But on Friday, Brian Panish, an attorney for Nancy and Karim Iskander, placed the blame on both Erickson and Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation.
“They were running, you're going to hear it,” Panish told jurors, showing clips of video statements from numerous people who witnessed the fatal crash on Sept. 29, 2020. “At least six people saw it.”
Panish said Grossman was intoxicated by a combination of benzodiazepines and alcohol, and that Erickson was also intoxicated as they drove to their rental home from a restaurant where they had been drinking.
The two were driving on Triunfo Canyon Road in Westlake Village when Mark and Jacob crossed the street with their mother and younger brother on Saddle Mountain Drive. Nancy Iskander testified at the criminal trial that she began rollerblading with her youngest son, Zachary, at her side on his scooter. Mark, on a skateboard, and Jacob, also on inline skates, followed at a little more than an arm's length behind him.
“Because Mr. Erickson is running and is in the first lane, he blocks the children's ability to escape,” Panish said. “And they both get hit at 73 mph by Ms. Grossman — 73 mph, which is equivalent to taking a 4,800-pound car and dropping it off a 12-story building.”
After the collision, the safety system in Grossman's Mercedes SUV disabled the vehicle, which stopped about a third of a mile down the road. Tests showed his blood alcohol content was 0.08% three hours after the crash, Panish said.
“We do not know what Mr. Erickson's blood alcohol level was when he fled the scene,” he added.
During his criminal trial, Grossman and his legal team insisted that the evidence showed that Erickson had hit the children first. Esther Holm, his attorney, told jurors Friday that evidence will show her client “never saw the children in the crosswalk.”
A state appeals court denied Grossman's appeal in his criminal case last month, but his attorney says he will now seek review from the California Supreme Court.
Holm said “several cars were involved” and that investigators focused on Grossman without checking any other vehicles. Holm told jurors she will present evidence that there was “a rush to determine that the entire accident was Rebecca Grossman's fault,” ignoring Erickson.
He detailed how the city of Westlake Village had documented problems with the crosswalk where the accident occurred and had rejected efforts by its public safety committee to install lights there to alert drivers, and the curve of the road made the crossing difficult to see.
Holm said the evidence will show Grossman was not drunk, was not running and did not “know what happened.”
“His car stopped in the road. His emergency system called 911… Mr. Erickson left the scene of the accident,” he said, claiming he “saw the children.”
During the criminal trial, Grossman's attorneys portrayed the absent Erickson as the real culprit, saying he fled and then threatened Grossman's daughter, who testified she saw him hiding in the bushes near the scene.
Panish adopted some of that narrative on Friday, including Erickson's return to the scene.
“Erickson fled and escaped and she tried to escape,” he said.
Panish played a clip of a video deposition from former professional baseball player Royce Clayton, who said he drank margaritas with the couple at a nearby bar shortly before the crash and spoke with Erickson afterward. Clayton said Erickson told him he saw Grossman hit the children in his rearview mirror.
“He sees two boys murdered by his girlfriend and leaves the scene,” Panish said.
Before the civil trial began, Erickson, through his attorneys, attempted to blame Grossman for the entire incident, insisting that he was going just over the 45 mph speed limit.
But Panish said data from Grossman's Mercedes showed she was driving between 70 and 80 mph before the fatal collision, and he said it made sense for Erickson to drive faster since his vehicle was in front of hers.
Panish said he would present evidence that Erickson owned a pair of Mercedes SUVs and told Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators that he was driving a regular model during the incident, when in fact he was driving a more powerful AMG. During Grossman's criminal trial, a district attorney investigator testified that Erickson “cold-plated” using the same license plate for both vehicles.
Erickson's attorney said Friday that accident technicians who examined both SUVs concluded that “there was an impact and it was with Ms. Grossman's vehicle.”
“He was not competing with Rebecca Grossman or anyone else,” said attorney Deborah Tropp.
He said the former pitcher was going 50 to 55 mph when he saw the Iskander family crossing the street and that he will testify, unlike Grossman's criminal trial.
“Mr. Erickson will tell you that if he had hit the brakes, he was worried he would have hit the children,” Tropp told jurors. “He made the decision to speed up a little faster; he knew he could clear the intersection safely and not harm the children.”
The attorney told jurors that Erickson knew nothing about the deadly incident until his then-girlfriend called him shortly afterward. At the time of the accident, Grossman was separated from her famous plastic surgeon husband, Dr. Peter Grossman.
Tropp said Rebecca Grossman told Erickson in a phone call that “something bad happened.”
“He said, 'Did you see those kids?' And then she said, 'What kids?' and the line went out,” Tropp said.
He also denied that Erickson was hiding in the bushes and said he ran back to the scene, encountered Grossman and his wrecked Mercedes, and was told to back up by a police officer.
