The co-founder of a Los Angeles County-based burn foundation has been charged with fatally running over two young boys and then fleeing the scene of the accident.
Rebecca Grossman, 57, of Hidden Hills, Calif., is free on a $2 million bond after being charged Dec. 30 with two felony counts each of murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, in addition to one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
Grossman allegedly drove at excessive speeds on Triunfo Canyon Road in Westlake Village, and struck and killed 11-year-old Mark Iskander and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander, who were crossing the street in a marked crosswalk with their parents. After allegedly striking the children, Grossman allegedly continued driving, eventually stopping about a quarter-mile away from the scene when her car stopped running.
Grossman was arrested by sheriff’s deputies the day of the crash, Sept. 29, 2020, and subsequently released on Oct. 1 on bond. She remains free on bond, with one of the conditions of her bail barring her from driving, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Grossman was arraigned in the Van Nuys Branch of Los Angeles County Superior Court. She is scheduled for a preliminary setting hearing on Feb. 16, according to a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office. Case LA093990 is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ryan Gould of the D.U.I. Training and Prosecution Section (DTAPS).
The case is being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. If convicted, Grossman faces a possible maximum sentence of 34 years to life in state prison.
Grossman is co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation, with her husband, Peter Grossman, M.D., who is director of the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, and son of the center’s later founder, A. Richard Grossman.
Established in 2007 as the philanthropic arm of the Grossman Burn Centers, the mission of the foundation is to “promote effective, sustainable partnerships solutions for the comprehensive treatment, care, and support of burn survivors and their families in the United States and around the world.”
In its most recent tax filing, in 2018, the Calabasas, Calif.-based foundation reported total revenue of almost $220,000 and net assets of almost $590,000. An email message seeking comment sent this morning to the foundation was not immediately returned.
