VAN NUYS, CA — The murder trial of Rebecca Grossman, who is charged with fatally striking two boys with her car in Westlake Village and fleeing the scene in 2020, began on Friday morning as both sides made opening statements, with Grossman’s attorney arguing that another car — one driven by an ex-Dodgers player — hit the boys first.
The children’s mother is expected to offer dramatic testimony Friday after 1:30 p.m.
Grossman was charged in 2020 with two felony counts each of murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. Prosecutors say Grossman hit Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8, Iskander, who were crossing the street in a marked crosswalk in September 2020.
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This story will be updated with live details from the trial throughout the day Friday.
The boys’ mother, Nancy Iskander, was walking with them at the time of the crash along with her third son.
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Prosecutors say that Grossman was driving back to her home from a restaurant, where she had drinks with former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, whom she was romantically involved with, and his friend. Just before the crash, Grossman was driving as fast as 81 mph, with Erickson driving fast in a black SUV in front of her.
During his opening statements in court in Van Nuys Friday, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Gould narrated to jurors the boy’s horrific final moments from their mother’s perspective.
“She hears the deafening sound of cars barreling down on her. She puts her hands up, realizing that they are not slowing down, and sees Mr. Erickson’s black SUV barreling down on her, toward her — she has to make a split-second decision,” Gould said.
“She grabs her youngest son, Zachary, and dives out of the way of the black SUV. She’s able to save Zachary and when she looks back and sees the white SUV going through the intersection, her children are no longer there,” Gould continued.
Jacob’s body was found 50 to 70 feet away from the crosswalk, while Mark’s body landed 254 feet down the road, Gould said.
Grossman’s attorney, high-profile Texan Tony Buzbee, argued prosecutors have wrongly focused on Grossman — and it was in fact Erickson who hit the boys first and at the time of the collision the boys had exited the crosswalk and walked diagonally across vehicle travel lanes toward the sidewalk.
“Scott Erickson’s car hit those children outside the crosswalk, causing one to vault and one to fall to the side and … seconds later they were hit by Mrs. Grossman’s car,” Buzbee said.
Erickson, who has denied any wrongdoing, has not faced charges for the boys’ death. He was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving in connection with the incident in a case that was resolved in 2022. A judge ordered him to make a public service announcement geared toward high school students about the importance of safe driving, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Grossman, 60, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and wife of prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, faces a sentence of 34 years to life in prison if she’s convicted on all counts.
Nancy Iskander is expected to testify Friday afternoon.
The trial has captured national attention, including recent coverage on NewsNation.
Friday’s opening statements come after jury selection took nearly two weeks: Nine men and three women were empaneled, along with six alternates chosen from a pool of hundreds of potential jurors.
The trial is expected to last six weeks.
Grossman’s trial was set to begin last summer, but was delayed following a back-and-forth over evidence.
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