Rebecca Grossman and ex-lover Scott Erickson ordered to pay $176 million to parents of brothers killed in hit-and-run
Convicted child murderer Rebecca Grossman and her ex-boyfriend, onetime professional baseball star Scott Erickson, must pay $176 million to the grieving family of two teenage siblings killed in a horrific hit-and-run crash by the wealthy socialite, a jury decided Wednesday.
Grossman, 64, and the 58-year-old World Series-winning pitcher were also found to have acted ‘maliciously or under duress’ before the crash; That means they both face paying $176 million in compensatory damages, plus millions more in punitive damages.
Jurors announced their verdict Wednesday in the eighth week of the wrongful death trial, in which Grossman and Erickson are accused of sharing cocktails and racing each other in their cars just before hitting 11-year-old Mark and eight-year-old Jacob Iskander.
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for two days before deciding to award compensation to the parents of the dead children, Nancy and Karim Iskander, and their third son, Zachary, who was five when he narrowly escaped death or serious injury in the same crash.
The $176 total figure includes $14 million awarded to parents who have lost the ‘love and friendship’ of Mark and Jacob since the fatal crash, and $93 million for those who will lose their son’s love and friendship in the future.
Nancy Iskander was awarded $10 million for “serious emotional distress” since the crash and $25 million for future emotional distress.
And the jury said brother Zachary should receive $6 million for past serious emotional distress and $28 million for future serious emotional distress.
In response to Alexander’s claim for damages totaling $439 million, Grossman’s lawyer, Esther Holm, said her detained client would be willing to pay “reasonable compensation” without specifying an amount.
Erickson’s attorney, Jeff Braun, offered a payment of $10 million.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Nancy and Karim Iskander over the deaths of their 11-year-old sons Mark and 8-year-old Jacob, who were shot and killed while crossing the street in Westlake Village in September 2020, continues for the second day.
Jurors in the civil trial against convicted murderer Rebecca Grossman must decide how much compensation the devastated family of two teenage boys should receive and whether former Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Erickson should share responsibility for the fatal crash.
Jurors found that Erickson was ‘negligent’ and that his negligence was a ‘substantial factor’ in the boys’ deaths (Judge Huey Cotton, who presided over the case, had already ruled Grossman was negligent).
The jury also found that Grossman and Erickson “acted together” to cause the fatal crash.
In the 8-page, 24-question ‘special verdict form’ that the jurors had to consider, they answered ‘yes’ to questions 17 and 18, which asked whether Grossman acted ‘maliciously or under duress’ and whether Erickson acted with fraud, malice or duress.
This means both defendants now face paying separate punitive damages, which were imposed as punishment for their ‘despicable’ behavior that led to the deaths of the Alexander brothers.
These punitive damages will be decided by the jury later in a second verdict after panel members hear evidence and testimony about Grossman and Erickson’s finances.
Jurors rejected Grossman’s claim that the Westlake Village crosswalk was partially responsible, declaring that the Westlake Village crosswalk where the crash occurred was ‘not in a hazardous condition.’
Karim and Nancy Iskander are seeking nearly half a billion dollars in damages for the loss of their two sons
Grossman and Erickson were photographed attending a fundraiser in 2020 shortly before the crash. Erickson was charged with reckless driving and the criminal case was resolved in February 2022.
Grossman’s Mercedes is seen following the collision. He continued driving despite the obvious damage to the car after hitting the children
Following Wednesday’s verdict, Alexander’s lawyer Brian Panish told the Daily Mail: ‘We’re not done yet; There’s more work to be done.’
Grossman’s speeding white Mercedes SUV collided with both children at a crosswalk in Westlake Village near Los Angeles in September 2020, fatally injuring them after he and Erickson drank margaritas at a local bar.
Grossman is currently serving 15 years in prison after jurors in his February 2024 criminal trial convicted him of two counts of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter, as well as a hit-and-run count.
Erickson admitted on the witness stand during the civil trial that he lied to police about how much alcohol he had to drink before the fatal crash and that he was convicted of drunken driving in Nevada 12 years ago.
He also admitted that when police asked him to hand over the vehicle he was driving at the time of the accident, he showed the wrong car for inspection (he illegally owned two black Mercedes SUVs bearing the same license plate number at the time).
But the 6ft 4in former MLB pitcher vehemently denied responsibility for the horrific pile-up. He claimed he wasn’t racing Grossman, insisted he wasn’t under the influence of alcohol, and disputed eyewitness accounts who said he was driving 80-100 miles per hour just before the crash.
He testified that he saw two children crossing the crosswalk without hitting them, and that he did not see their mother, Nancy, catch up with Zachary, who was five at the time, and jump for their lives to avoid being hit by Grossman’s black Mercedes SUV as it sped through the intersection in front of Grossman.
Grossman’s criminal trial attorneys attempted to pin blame for the fatal crash on Erickson, who did not show up for his ex-girlfriend’s 6-week criminal trial.
But he was charged only with misdemeanor reckless driving, which was dismissed after he made a public service announcement about the importance of safe driving.
Although no criminal charges have been filed against Erickson, Alexander named him as a defendant in the civil lawsuit, saying he bears equal responsibility as Grossman for the fatal crash.
Grossman’s lawyers in the civil case called it a “tragic, horrific accident,” saying he did not see the children in the crosswalk, that “other factors were at play” such as poor signage and lighting at the intersection, and that he was not “weakened” by alcohol and drugs as the Alexanders claimed.
Erickson is the owner of the Mercedes she was driving at the time of the accident, and her plastic surgeon husband, Dr. When she broke up with Peter Grossman, he was having a love affair with Rebecca.
