Second driver questioned in Grossman investigation

Captain says two cars were quasi-“racing” moments before deadly collision



STEADY REMINDER—A Los Angeles County sheriff’s radar speed sign was parked near Triunfo Canyon Road and Saddle Mountain Drive in Westlake Village shortly after a fatal crash that occurred Sept. 29. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

STEADY REMINDER—A Los Angeles County sheriff’s radar speed sign was parked near Triunfo Canyon Road and Saddle Mountain Drive in Westlake Village shortly after a fatal crash that occurred Sept. 29. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

CROSSWALK COLLISION

The captain of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station has confirmed that investigators believe Rebecca Grossman was speeding to either stay ahead or catch up to a second vehicle the night she struck two young brothers in a crosswalk while they were out for a walk with their family near Westlake Lake.

Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, both died as a result of injuries suffered in the collision.

The driver of the second vehicle, whose name has not been released, has been contacted and questioned but no charges have been filed against him, Capt. Chuck Beccera told the Acorn.

The revelation explains why the first call that came in the night of Sept. 29 concerned street racing.

Beyond a single news release issued a day after the crash announcing the arrest of Grossman, 57, on suspicion of felony DUI, gross vehicular manslaughter and fleeing the scene of an accident, the department has made no other official statements on the deadly collision.

Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and former publisher of Westlake Magazine, has yet to be charged. She is free on $2-million bail.

Some in the community have accused the department of favoritism for not releasing Grossman’s mug shot (in California, mug shots are not considered public record and are therefore released at the discretion of the law enforcement agencies) because of her wealth and social status. Grossman is the wife of Dr. Peter Grossman, son of Grossman Burn Center founder Dr. Richard Grossman.

Rebecca Grossman was scheduled to be arraigned in a San Fernando courtroom Oct. 21 but that hearing was called off to give the department more time to conduct its investigation, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office told the Acorn.

“What’s more to investigate, unless they’re looking to throw the book at her,” wrote one resident on the Acorn’s Facebook page. “The family and those two boys need justice. The rich elite need to be held accountable like everyone else would be.”

A new court date has not been announced.

With very little coming from LASD or the D.A., speculation about the night in question is running rampant in Westlake Village, including where Grossman was allegedly drinking before she took off down Lindero Canyon Road and up Triunfo Canyon Road around 7:10 p.m., just about the time Mark and Jacob were about to cross the street with their parents and two younger siblings in tow.

Police say Grossman was driving faster than the posted 45-mph speed limit and was over the legal limit for alcohol. Photos taken the day after the crash show no signs of brake marks before or after the crosswalk at Triunfo and Saddle Mountain Drive.

A witness reported seeing Grossman’s white Mercedes-Benz parked near Triunfo Canyon Road and Golden Leaf Drive, a mile up the road from the crash site shortly after the collision.

The crosswalk where the collision took place is now slated for flashing lights, though it’s unclear when the city will commence with the planned $250,000 improvement.