A civil jury has ordered Rebecca Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation, to pay $21 million in punitive damages for the 2020 crash that killed two young brothers in Westlake Village. The total award, including $176 million in compensatory damages previously granted, now stands at $198 million for the Iskander family.
Grossman was convicted in 2024 of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter for driving her Mercedes SUV at high speed and striking 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his 8-year-old brother Jacob in a marked crosswalk on Triunfo Canyon Road. Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, who was with Grossman that night, was ordered to pay $1 in punitive damages after being found negligent in the civil trial, though he faced no criminal charges.
The jury determined that both Grossman and Erickson acted with malice, warranting the additional punitive damages. During the trial, the boys' mother, Nancy Iskander, testified about the devastating impact of the loss, stating, "Part of me is simply dead.
Part of my heart is gone." She described replaying the events of September 28, 2020, when the family often walked in the area. The Iskander family's attorney, Brian Panish, argued that Grossman and Erickson were racing after drinking together, though defense attorneys disputed those claims.
Grossman is currently serving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison, and her criminal conviction was upheld by a panel of the Second District Court of Appeal in March. Prosecutors had argued she was driving at 70 mph in a 45-mph zone and continued driving after the collision until her vehicle stopped.