Photo: The Mark & Jacob Iskander Foundation
Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson faced intense questioning in a Van Nuys courtroom on Monday during a civil trial concerning the deaths of two young boys in Westlake Village.
The trial involves Erickson and Rebecca Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation, who was previously convicted of second-degree murder for the deaths of 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander. Grossman is currently serving a 15-year to life sentence for the incident that occurred on September 29, 2020.
The Iskander family is now pursuing a civil lawsuit, seeking to establish the liability of both Grossman and Erickson for the tragic deaths. The family's lawyers allege that Grossman and Erickson were racing when Grossman's SUV struck the boys in a marked crosswalk. Erickson, who was driving a separate vehicle, admitted to deleting WhatsApp messages exchanged with Grossman after the accident. He also acknowledged that he did not report his involvement until contacted by police over a week later.
During the trial, Erickson testified that he was driving up to 55 mph in a 45 mph zone but denied racing with Grossman. Despite deleting messages, he claimed ignorance about whether they could have been critical evidence. Erickson's former teammate, Royce Clayton, testified that Erickson had seen Grossman hit the boys in his rearview mirror. Clayton also mentioned that Erickson, Grossman, and he had been drinking margaritas before the crash.
Erickson was initially charged with misdemeanor reckless driving, but the charge was dropped. The civil trial is expected to continue for several more weeks, with Erickson scheduled to testify further on Tuesday.
