Former LA Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson was expected to take the stand again Tuesday after facing some tough questions as he and Rebecca Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Center, are being sued for $100 million for the 2020 crash that killed two Westlake Village brothers.
Grossman was convicted of killing Mark and Jacob Iskander, ages 11 and 8, who were standing at a marked crosswalk with their family in September 2020.
As Grossman is serving 15 years to life in prison, the family of the deceased boys has asked a civil jury to examine liability and damages caused by Grossman and Erickson, who were dating at the time of the deadly crash.
Erickson took the stand for the first time in the civil trial on Monday, admitting that he had deleted WhatsApp conversations with Grossman after the crash, claiming that he didn’t know the messages would be evidence.
He also admitted he learned the deaths of Mark and Jacob Isklander the day after the crash. But he said he did not come forward about his involvement until investigators reached out to him a few weeks later.
The former professional baseball player also testified he wasn’t “racing” Grossman before the crash although he did admit to driving 55 miles per hour in a 45 mile zone.
Last week, his former teammate Royce Clayton said during his testimony he had margaritas with Erickson and Grossman before the crash.
Tuesday will be Day 12 of the civil trial. The court proceedings are expected to last for another three to four weeks.
After her 2024 conviction, Grossman appealed, but a three-judge panel of California’s Second Appellate District upheld her conviction upheld her convictions
Moments before the crash on Sep. 29, 2020, six members of the Isksander family were crossing the three-way intersection — which does not have a stoplight — in a marked crosswalk when the two young boys were struck. The older boy died at the scene, and his 8-year-old sibling died at a hospital.
Prosecutors alleged Grossman was driving at 81 mph in a 45-mph zone seconds before the crash.
“Because Mr. Erickson is racing, and he’s in the first lane, he blocks off the boys ability to escape,” Brian Panish, the attorney for the Iskander family said during the opening statement of the civil trial. “And they are both hit at 73 miles an hour by Ms. Grossman. 73 miles an hour, which is the equivalent of taking a 4,800 pound car and dropping it from a 12-story building.”
Grossman continued driving, eventually stopping about a quarter-mile away from the scene when her car engine stopped running, prosecutors said.
Ester Hold, Grossman’s attorney, said her client never tried to leave the crash site after driving into the boys.
“The evidence will show Ms. Grossman never saw the children in the crosswalk,” Hold said. “We think there are other factors involved, and there was a rush to judgement to immediately determine that the entire accident was caused by and the fault of Rebecca Grossman.”