Judge rejects attempt to dismiss murder charges against Rebecca Grossman in hit-and-run that killed Westlake Village brothers
Rebecca Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation, will be tried for murder in connection with the hit-and-run deaths of two young brothers in a Westlake Village crosswalk.
A judge rejected a defense motion Wednesday seeking to dismiss the murder charges against the 59-year-old socialite, who was accused of running down 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his 8-year-old brother Jacob in September of 2020, then taking off. The boys had been walking with their family in a crosswalk.
Grossman, who is the wife of Grossman Burn Center Director Dr. Peter Grossman, had been ordered to stand trial in May. At that hearing Superior Court Judge Shellie Samuels said, "I cannot with a clear conscience dismiss the murder charges." She said she believed Grossman's actions "went well beyond gross negligence." So the case was sent to Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino, who rejected the defense's renewed motion to dismiss the murder charges.
In his court filing opposing the defense's motion, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Gould wrote that "the defendant clearly drove in a reckless and dangerous manner.'' Data from the "black box'' in Grossman's white SUV indicated she was traveling at 73 mph five seconds before the collision, up to 81 mph at two seconds before the collision and then 73 mph at the time of the collision, according to the prosecutor's filing.
Grossman was charged in December 2020 with two felony counts each of murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, along with one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. During the May hearing, Gould said Grossman had received two speeding tickets – including one in May 2020 and another in March 2013. The CHP officers who made the 2013 traffic stop told investigators he had warned the driver that driving 92 mph on the 101 Freeway could kill or injure someone – but she replied he'd better hope he never needs to go to the Grossman Burn Center, Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Scott Shean testified.
The sheriff's detective testified that a blood-alcohol sample taken from Grossman after she struck the boys showed that her blood-alcohol level was 0.08% -- the amount considered unlawful. Testing done by the Orange County crime lab showed a lower amount below the legal limit, according to a witness called by the defense.
Grossman was arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies the day of the crash and released Oct. 1, 2020 after posting bail. She was given permission earlier this year to drive after having been barred from driving for more than a year.
If convicted as charged, Grossman faces a maximum of 34 years to life in prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.
