A forensic pathologist testified Tuesday that two boys killed after being hit at high speed by a car driven by philanthropist Rebecca Grossman in 2020 had injuries so severe that neither life could have been saved with immediate medical attention.
Dr. Matthew Miller, a former member of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office who now works in the Inland Empire, said the deaths of Mark and Jacob Iskander, aged 11 and 8, were caused by blunt-force trauma. Referring to Mark Iskander, Miller said the boy’s head injuries, which included skull fractures, were so severe that he would have died even if he were hit in front of a hospital and had immediate care.
Miller said the injuries on both boys, which also paralyzed them, were consistent with marks on the grill design of Grossman’s Mercedes-Benz. The doctor further said the children were hit at high speed and had “patterned injuries” that were consistent with hundreds of other autopsies he has performed on other auto vs. pedestrian accidents.
A patterned injury is a physical wound, including bruises, abrasions or lacerations, that indicate a distinct shape, size or characteristics of the object or surface that caused it. Both boys also had abrasions that are typically inflicted by pavement scrapes, according to Miller.
The doctor said there was no evidence the boys were run over by a car because in that case they would have had significant injuries based on being scraped by bolts and other items on a car undercarriage. He said he could not fully rule out that the boys were hit by two cars.
The plaintiffs in the civil suit filed in January 2021 are Nancy Iskander and her husband Karim as well as son Zachary. Along with Grossman and her boyfriend at the time, former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, the Iskander family is suing the socialite’s husband, Peter Grossman.
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 were struck in a 45 mph zone on Sept. 29, 2020, according to the suit filed in January 2021. Erickson said Monday that he was in love with Grossman at the time although she was married at the time and continues to be the wife of Peter Grossman.
In their court papers, the Iskander attorneys contend that the 62-year-old Grossman, of Hidden Hills, was racing with Erickson, an accusation the former MLB player has denied. The Iskanders further contend that 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.
Grossman lied to law enforcement about her speed and how much she had to drink, and contended she did not know why her airbag suddenly deployed despite her vehicle sustaining massive front-end damage, the Iskander attorneys further state. Grossman and Erickson have blamed each other for hitting the boys.
In March, a panel of the Second District Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of the Grossman Burn Foundation co-founder. 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 in connection with the Sept. 29, 2020, deaths of Mark and Jacob Iskander, aged 11 and 8.
Grossman was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.