LOS ANGELES (CN) – Dr. Peter Grossman, a prominent Southern California plastic surgeon, was questioned on the witness stand Friday about his family’s fortune as his jailed wife and her ex-lover face damages for the deaths of two young brothers in a hit-and-run accident six years ago.
Brian Panish, the attorney representing the family of Mark and Jacob Iskander, accused Grossman of dodging questions and guarding his answers about both his wife’s responsibility for the fatal 2020 accident and their finances.
“You’re on both sides of every question, aren’t you,” Panish told Grossman.
Jurors in Los Angeles County Superior Court heard recorded jailhouse calls in which Peter and Rebecca Grossman discussed hiding parity in their home from Panish, who they referred to as an “ambulance chaser.”
During his cross-examination of Peter Grossman, Panish highlighted a series of property transfers that included the couple’s 14,000-square-foot residence. According to Panish, ownership was initially transferred by both spouses to Peter Grossman only through a promissory note executed by Rebecca Grossman and later placed in a trust.
“I did not seek to hide assets from the Iskander family,” Grossman told the jury.
On Wednesday, the jury found that Rebecca Grossman and Erickson’s negligence caused the children’s deaths. Jurors also found they acted in bad faith, allowing the family to pursue damages.
Rebecca Grossman, 62, is serving a sentence of 15 years to life following her 2024 convictions on two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of hit-and-run resulting in death. A California appellate court kept in force those convictions in March.
Mark and Jacob Iskander, ages 11 and 8, were killed on September 29, 2020, while crossing a marked crosswalk in a residential neighborhood of Westlake Village, an affluent town in west LA County. They were walking with their parents and two younger siblings.
Grossman and Erickson, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins and other teams, are accused of racing the Mercedes SUV after drinking margaritas at a Westlake Village restaurant.
The boys’ mother, Nancy Iskander, testified at Grossman’s murder trial that the SUVs approached the crosswalk at “crazy” speeds and changed lanes as if they were playing a game. She grabbed one of her younger children and jumped away from Erickson’s black SUV, but Grossman’s white SUV struck Mark and Jacob.
Grossman did not stop after hitting the boys, despite her airbags deploying. Her SUV came to rest about one-third of a mile from the crosswalk.
Erickson, 58, avoided criminal charges by agreeing to film a public service announcement about safe driving.
He was also called to testify on Friday and told the jury of the remorse he felt for what happened.
“Not a day has gone by that I’ve been sad or upset and I wish I had done something different,” Erickson told the jury.
Peter Grossman was aware of his wife’s relationship with Erickson. According to court filings, Rebecca Grossman split her time between the Hidden Hills mansion she shared with her husband and a Westlake Village home she shared with Erickson, located less than a mile from the crash site.
Peter Grossman serves as the medical director of the Grossman Burn Center and founded Grossman Plastic Surgery in West Hills, California. It also contracts with hospitals and burn centers in and outside of California.
During his testimony, Peter Grossman declined to characterize his wife’s behavior in the terms requested by Panish and disputed the attorney’s assertion that he was traveling 73 mph in a 45 mph zone when she struck and killed the boys.
When Panish challenged him to provide evidence that his wife was not driving nearly 30 miles over the speed limit, Grossman suggested only that the data in the vehicle’s electronic data recorder, or black box, was corrupted.
“I agree that her conduct was negligent and that the outcome was tragic,” he said. “I have difficulty with the term ‘convict.’
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