Rebecca Grossman trial: Daughter testifies she saw Scott Erickson the night of the crash

Rebecca Grossman’s teenaged daughter testified Friday that she saw Scott Erickson behind a tree as a deputy questioned her mom after the crash that killed two Westlake Village boys.

The testimony contradicted an earlier statement Alexis Grossman gave to the District Attorney's Office months after the Sept. 29, 2020, crash. Back then, she said she never saw Erickson, a former professional baseball player, that night.

But during her mother's murder trial Friday, she said she saw him on the road and then he showed up at their house.

"He was ranting," she said in a Van Nuys courtroom.

She described Erickson, who was dating her mom at the time, as frantic, angry and terrified at the same time. He said why did your mom stop, she said, and he threatened to ruin her and her family if she told anyone she saw him that night.

Mark and Jacob Iskander had been crossing Triunfo Canyon Road with their mom and younger brother around 7:10 p.m. when they were struck and killed. Prosecutors say Grossman was driving her white Mercedes SUV 73 mph when she hit Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8. The speed limit on the road is 45 mph.

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.

Her attorneys said a black SUV driven by Erickson passed through the crosswalk first. They blamed him for the crash, saying he hit the boys first.

Experts: Grossman's SUV damage matches injuries

The couple had been heading to Grossman's home near Westlake Lake in separate SUVs after having drinks at a nearby restaurant. Witnesses testified to hearing and seeing vehicles speeding on the road just before the crash.

The boys' mom, Nancy Iskander, said she grabbed her youngest son, the closest one to her, and dove out of the path of the black vehicle. She testified that she saw it pass through without hitting anyone. She looked up and saw the white Mercedes SUV go through the spot where her other sons had just been, she said.

Several prosecution experts testified the damage on Grossman's SUV matched the boys' injuries.

Grossman didn’t stop until the Mercedes crash safety features cut off the fuel, prosecutors have said. An expert for the defense said she may have been temporarily stunned and her feet pushed off the pedals when a steering wheel and knee airbag deployed.

She pulled the vehicle over roughly a third of a mile from the crosswalk. Her home was just blocks away.

Alexis, 16 at the time, said she had driven to meet a food delivery driver when she spotted her mom and her mom’s damaged SUV surrounded by police cars.

She got out and started to run toward her mom, but a deputy stopped her and told her to go home, she said. Before she left, Alexis said she saw Erickson – previously described as 6 foot 4 and 200-plus pounds – poking his head out from behind a tree and looking at what was going on.

Daughter says Erickson a no-show

Under cross examination, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Gould asked Alexis if she had pointed him out to the officer. She didn't, she said.

"I wish I did," she said. "If I had, maybe we wouldn't be here right now."

Alexis also didn't tell her parents right away, she said. She did some time later, and they told her to tell their attorney at the time, she testified. He told her not to say anything, she said. That attorney has since died.

In 2021, she gave a statement to Gould and he asked her about Erickson and whether he had made it to the house after the crash. She told him no. He asked her if their paths ever crossed that night. She said no.

She didn't tell her mom's attorneys representing her during a preliminary hearing about seeing Erickson, she said. She also said she didn't tell her mom's new attorneys as they prepared for trial, initially scheduled to start in July. She first told them in December, weeks before the trial would start. They advised her she would need to get her own lawyer.

Blood drawn hours after the crash

In 2021, Erickson was charged with reckless driving, a misdemeanor. The court ordered judicial diversion, and the case was later resolved.

A retired Texas police officer told jurors this week that Grossman was not impaired after the crash.

Both prosecution and defense experts have said a Los Angeles County deputy made mistakes when he gave her field sobriety tests. But while the District Attorney's Office experts said the evidence in the case showed Grossman was impaired, the retired sergeant called by her defense team disagreed.

"I would say the majority of the evidence points to not intoxicated or not impaired," Don Egdorf said, responding to questions from one of Grossman's defense attorneys, also from Texas.

She had roughly 1 ½ drinks over more than two hours before driving toward her home near the lake, witnesses have testified. More than an hour after the crash, her breathalyzer results showed blood alcohol levels of 0.076% and 0.075%. The legal limit in California is 0.08%.

After she was arrested, a deputy drove Grossman to an emergency room where her blood was drawn for testing around 10:15 p.m.

The Los Angeles County sheriff's lab analysis showed a blood alcohol level of 0.08% and detected a small amount of valium. An Orange County sheriff's lab analysis later found a blood alcohol level of 0.075%.

Headed to watch a presidential debate

Before heading to her home, Grossman had drinks with Erickson and his friend Royce Clayton. The three planned to meet up at Grossman's house to watch the presidential debate, Clayton testified earlier in the trial.

Erickson drove away in his black Mercedes SUV, and Grossman drove her white Mercedes SUV. Clayton, also a former professional baseball player, had stopped at a grocery store. When Grossman left the restaurant to drive home, Clayton testified she did not seem impaired.

Earlier this week, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office reported Clayton, 54, of Westlake Village, had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. The arrest happened at a DUI checkpoint in the Thousand Oaks area early Sunday morning, according to the sheriff's office.

Clayton was cited and released. He has not yet been charged by the District Attorney's Office.

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's daughter testifies at her mom's murder trial