Jurors reached a verdict, awarding more than $170 million, in a wrongful death lawsuit filed after two boys were struck and killed in a Westlake Village crosswalk.
Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, were killed while crossing Triunfo Canyon Road with their mom and younger brother in 2020. The Iskander family filed a civil suit against Rebecca Grossman, convicted of second-degree murder in the crash, and Scott Erickson, her then-boyfriend and former Major League Baseball player, who also was on the road at the time.
After five weeks of testimony in a Van Nuys courtroom, jurors were at the end of a second day of deliberations when they announced they had reached a verdict.
During the trial, the family’s attorney told the jury that Grossman, wife of plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, and Erickson raced toward the intersection after drinking and didn’t stop when the two boys were struck and killed. They sped past people biking and walking as Grossman floored the gas pedal, driving 80-plus mph in a 45 mph zone, lawyer Brian Panish said.
Jurors did not decide whether Grossman was negligent because the court determined that she was and that her negligence was a substantial factor in causing the boys’ deaths.
They found Erickson was also negligent and that his negligence was a substantial factor in the boys’ deaths.
In all, the jury listed damages totaling $176 million for the Iskander family.
Erickson drove through the crosswalk without hitting the boys, according to witnesses and the former MLB pitcher. But Panish said he was racing Grossman and, because of that, he also was responsible.
In his closing argument, Panish suggested jurors could award $439 million, based on the claims for wrongful death as well as serious emotional distress experienced by Nancy Iskander, their mom, and Zachary, their younger brother.
Regarding damages, Erickson’s attorney suggested that $10 million would be a fair amount in the case. The Grossmans’ attorney asked jurors to return a “reasonable” verdict.
Dr. Peter Grossman also was named in the lawsuit, because he was the registered owner of the vehicle that his wife was driving.
What happened before the fatal crash?
Before the crash, Grossman, Erickson and Erickson’s longtime friend had gone for drinks together.
The three then planned to meet up at Grossman’s house by the Westlake Lake to watch the presidential debate, the friend Royce Clayton testified. Erickson and Grossman drove separately, with Grossman in a white Mercedes SUV and Erickson in a black one. Clayton, also a former MLB player, had stopped at a store.
The Iskanders were in the crosswalk when witnesses said they saw and heard vehicles speeding toward them. The black SUV reached the crosswalk first.
The boys’ mom, Nancy Iskander, grabbed her youngest son, the closest to her, and dove out of the path of the vehicle, she said. She looked up and saw the white SUV pass the spot where Mark and Jacob had been.
Grossman’s attorney told jurors during her closing argument that her client was distracted by a woman falling and had turned her head. Grossman later learned that the woman was Nancy Iskander, the lawyer said.
After the crash, Grossman didn’t stop until the Mercedes crash safety features cut off the fuel, experts said. Her vehicle had stopped around a third of a mile from the crosswalk.
Mark likely died within minutes if not seconds of being struck, experts said. Paramedics took Jacob to a Thousand Oaks hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
What happened after the 2020 crash?
In 2024, a jury found Grossman, now 62, guilty of two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving. She was sentenced to 15 years to life and is currently in state prison.
A court of appeals upheld her convictions earlier this year, and she has since petitioned the California Supreme Court to review her case.
Erickson was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving in 2021. The court ordered judicial diversion, and the case was later dismissed, officials said.
During the civil trial, Erickson testified over multiple days, mostly under tense questioning from Panish. He was not impaired and had not been racing that night, Erickson said.
But he testified that he had lied multiple times, including to police and attorneys about what vehicle he drove at the time of the crash. He also deleted possibly months of messages between Grossman and himself after the crash, he said.
Erickson had not registered the SUV that he drove that night, he said. Instead, he would switch out a license plate registered to an older model SUV he also owned – a practice investigators referred to as cold plating.
Cheri Carlson is a reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Jury reaches verdict in Rebecca Grossman, Scott Erickson trial
Reporting by Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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By Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
