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VAN NUYS, LOS ANGELES () — The father of two young boys who were struck and killed in a Westlake Village crash testified Thursday in the civil trial against a socialite and a former Dodger pitcher in connection with the 2020 collision.
Karim Iskander took the stand in the trial against Rebecca Grossman and Scott Erickson. The father recalled his son Mark’s last birthday before the fatal crash.
“He picked to spend a day at the beach with his friends and I,” the elder Iskander testified. “We spent the day — it was amazing. When I came back, I told my wife I had so much fun, I want to do this all the time — at least monthly, because it was just a fun group of young boys.”
Former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson took the stand in the wrongful death civil trial against him and Rebecca Grossman over a crash that killed two young brothers.
Iskander described his life as perfect until the day of the crash. He recalled running to 11-year-old Mark’s lifeless body, trying to resuscitate him and then watching 8-year-old Jacob die in the hospital.
“We came back without Mark and Jacob forever,” Iskander said.
He described Mark as an academically gifted boy with great emotional intelligence who dreamed of becoming a brain surgeon and comedian. He called Mark his best friend several times and said he had a gift for understanding people.
In Jacob, Iskander described an effortlessly cool and athletically gifted child.
“He would always say, ‘I will be your protector, mom, don’t worry about anything in life, I am here for you,'” Iskander said.
Iskander said the family has never been the same, and they’ve sought counseling for their son who witnessed the tragedy when he was 5. Iskander said he also tried therapy.
“There is nothing, nothing, that any human being can say that can make things better,” Iskander said on the stand.
The plaintiffs in the civil suit filed in January 2021 are lead plaintiff Nancy Iskander and her husband Karim as well as son Zachary. Along with Grossman and Erickson, they are suing the socialite’s husband, Peter Grossman.
The lawsuit filed contends that Rebecca Grossman and Erickson had cocktails and the two later engaged in a speed contest along Triunfo Canyon Road until they reached a crosswalk and the children, Mark and Jacob Iskander, aged 11 and 8, were struck at about 80 mph in a 45 mph zone on Sept. 29, 2020.
In their court papers, the Iskander attorneys contend that the 62-year- old Grossman tried to flee the scene and likely would have succeeded had her vehicle not automatically shut down due to it sensing the massive impact that had just occurred.
In March, a panel of the Second District Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of the Grossman Burn Foundation co-founder. Rebecca Grossman was found guilty Feb. 23, 2024, of two counts each of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run driving. She was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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