Rebecca Grossman murder trial: Witnesses testify about crash that killed Iskander brothers

Two vehicles sped past Jake Sands as he rode in the passenger seat of his friend’s car in Westlake Village on Sept. 29, 2020.

The pair of Mercedes SUVs — one black, the other white — followed one just after the other on Triunfo Canyon Road, said Sands, who testified in the Rebecca Grossman murder trial earlier this week. The black one was ahead, he said. He then looked forward and saw a family in a crosswalk up ahead.

“I just instantly thought it was too late,” Sands said from the stand in a Van Nuys courthouse.

Mark and Jacob Iskander were in the crosswalk when they were struck and killed shortly after 7 p.m., authorities said. Mark was 11. Jacob was 8. Their mom and younger brother had been ahead of the boys, according to previous testimony.

Grossman, 60, of Hidden Hills, has been charged with two counts of murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

After monthslong delays, her trial started late last month. In the days since, the prosecution has called more than a dozen witnesses from responding Los Angeles County deputies and firefighters to local residents walking or driving on the lakeside road.

Prosecutors say Grossman was driving 81 mph just seconds before the crash. She took her foot off the gas a second and a half before impact, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Gould said in his opening statement.

Her speed was 73 mph when she struck the boys, who were in the crosswalk with their mom and younger brother, he said. The speed limit on Triunfo Canyon was 45 mph.

But Grossman's defense team said another vehicle hit the boys first. Her attorneys said Mark and Jacob were not in the crosswalk and were hit by more than one vehicle.

Rebecca Grossman heads home before crash

Witnesses testified that Grossman had drinks with then-boyfriend Scott Erickson, a former professional baseball player, and his friend at a nearby restaurant before the crash. The three had planned to meet up at Grossman’s home to watch the presidential debate.

The friend stopped at a grocery store first, and Erickson and Grossman headed to her home. Grossman left in her white Mercedes SUV and Erickson in a black Mercedes SUV, Gould said.

Nancy Iskander, the boys' mom, said the road was clear before she and her three sons went into the crosswalk on Triunfo Canyon Road. After they passed the middle of the street, she saw and heard vehicles speeding toward the crosswalk, she said.

Iskander grabbed her youngest son, who was closest to her, and dove out of the way of a black SUV. She then looked up and saw a white SUV go through the spot where her other two sons had just been — Mark on a skateboard and Jacob on rollerblades, she said.

Neither vehicle stopped after the crash, she said.

In 2021, Erickson was charged with reckless driving, a misdemeanor. The court ordered judicial diversion, and the case was later resolved after Erickson made public service announcements, officials said.

Witnesses see, hear crash that killed Mark and Jacob Iskander

When Grossman's airbags deployed, the Mercedes safety features cut off the fuel and connected her with an emergency response line. That's when she pulled over, prosecutors said.

When an operator asked if she hit someone or if someone had hit her, Grossman responded she didn't know what happened. Grossman said she was driving down the road and, all of the sudden, the airbags deployed in her face, according to a recording played during the trial.

Photos in the trial showed the front of her SUV was damaged and what appeared to be blood on the vehicle.

When he testified, Sands said he saw a white SUV hit Jacob. Another witness said she saw a vehicle hit Mark. Some also gave differing statements about the vehicles' colors or other details.

Susan Manners described speeding vehicles that sounded “like a train” as she walked her regular loop around the lake that night. At one point, she had moved into the bike lane and tried to wave her arms to get their attention, she said.

Manners told attorneys she heard two impacts from separate vehicles, but said her view of the initial one was partially blocked from her location.

Deputy takes Rebecca Grossman to Los Robles

Mark was pronounced dead at the scene. Jacob was taken in an ambulance to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. He was later pronounced dead.

A deputy also drove Grossman to the same emergency room after she was arrested. She had to be medically cleared before being booked and her blood also was drawn for testing, witnesses said.

Before the crash, Grossman had roughly 1 ½ drinks over more than 2 hours before driving toward her home near the lake, witnesses have testified. At the scene, her breathalyzer results around 8:30 p.m. showed blood alcohol levels of 0.076% and 0.075%. The legal limit in California is 0.08%.

She hasn’t been charged with a DUI, but prosecutors say that a lab later determined her blood alcohol level was 0.08% and had also detected valium. A second lab later found a blood alcohol level of 0.075%.

Teryl Grasso, an emergency medical technician, helped with Grossman's intake in the ER, she said in court Thursday. Grossman commented that she would be home in her garage if they had not disabled her car, Grasso said.

Under cross examination, lead defense attorney Tony Buzbee asked Grasso why it took her three years to come forward. She had been traumatized by the situation, she said. She also had concerns about health-related privacy laws, she told a prosecutor. After checking with a supervisor, she found out it would not violate those laws, Grasso said.

The trial is expected to resume Monday.

Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Rebecca Grossman murder trial: Witnesses testify in fatal crash