Witnesses to a hit-and-run that killed two young brothers in Westlake Village more than three years ago took the stand Tuesday in the murder trial of Los Angeles socialite Rebecca Grossman.
Grossman is accused of fatally striking 11-year-old Mark Iskander and eight-year-old Jacob Iskander with her white Mercedes SUV. But the defense argues that a black SUV driven by Grossman’s boyfriend, former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, was actually responsible for the crash.
A witness, Jake Sands, testified that he was in the passenger seat of a car traveling along Triunfo Canyon Road at the time of the crash. He said he saw a black SUV, followed by a white one, barreling towards the Iskanders as they crossed the street in a crosswalk. He recalled watching the children’s mother pull her youngest son out of the way.
Sands said the black SUV tried to avoid the other two boys as best as possible, then he heard an impact and saw one boy fly into the air. He said both vehicles tapped the brakes for a split second, then kept driving.
Another witness, Susan Manners, testified that she was walking in the area on the evening of the deadly crash. She recalled hearing one impact, and then seeing another, which caused one of the boys to fly up into the air. She couldn’t provide details about which cars were responsible for the two impacts.
Manners took a photo of Mark’s body after the crash, explaining that she thought it would be helpful to have as evidence. When the photo was displayed, the boys’ mother, Nancy Iskander, left the courtroom in tears.
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Grossman is charged with two counts of murder, along with gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing death. She pleaded not guilty.
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