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Rebecca Grossman ordered to stand trial on murder charges after alleged fatal DUI
The co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation, who allegedly ran down two young brothers in a Westlake Village crosswalk and fled the scene, was ordered Thursday to stand trial on murder and other charges.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. - The latest court hearing for Rebecca Grossman, the Hidden Hills socialite charged with murder in connection with the deadly DUI crash in Westlake Village that killed two brothers, has been postponed to March 6.
A family spokesperson told FOX 11 the pretrial hearing was postponed after the defense failed to turn in several pieces of discovery Tuesday.
Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and the wife of Dr. Peter Grossman, who is the director of the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills and son of the center's late founder, lost her motion to the Supreme Court last month to have the murder charges against her dismissed.
Grossman was ordered in May to stand trial on murder and other charges stemming from the September 2020 deaths of 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his 8-year-old brother, Jacob.
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- Rebecca Grossman ordered to stand trial on murder charges after alleged fatal DUI
- Rebecca Grossman, accused in DUI crash that killed two boys, testifies in court
- Brothers killed in Westlake Village crash; co-founder of prominent burn center arrested
Data from the "black box" in Grossman's white SUV indicated she was traveling at 73 mph five seconds before the collision, up to 81 mph at two seconds before the collision and then 73 mph at the time of the collision, according to the prosecutor's filing.
Grossman was charged in December 2020 with two felony counts each of murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, along with one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death
Prosecutors allege that Grossman drove at excessive speeds on Triunfo Canyon Road and struck the two boys as they were crossing the street with their parents in a marked crosswalk Sept. 29, 2020.
A sign shows an image of Mark Iskander, 11, left, and his brother Jacob Iskander, 8, outside of Van Nuys Courthouse where a preliminary hearing was held for Rebecca Grossman who is charged with murder and other counts stemming from a crash in Westla …
Sheriff's officials said six family members were crossing the three- way intersection -- which does not have a stoplight -- in the crosswalk when the mother heard a car speeding toward them and both parents reached out to protect two of their children, but the two boys were too far out in the intersection and were struck.
The older boy died at the scene and his 8-year-old sibling died at a hospital.
Grossman allegedly continued driving after striking the boys, eventually stopping about a quarter-mile away from the scene when her car engine stopped running, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
In a conversation with an operator through a Mercedes-Benz service following the crash, Grossman said she didn't know if she had hit anyone and that she was driving down the road when her airbag exploded.
"I don't know what I hit," Grossman said in the recording when a 911 operator was patched in and asked if she had hit a person.
Lorraine Maralian and her son Anthony Maralian of Westlake Village place flowers and pray at a growing memorial for two brothers who were fatally injured while crossing Triunfo Canyon Road at Saddle Mountain Drive in Westlake Village, CA. (Al Seib / …
At the hearing in May, the prosecutor said Grossman had received two speeding tickets -- including one in May 2020 and another in March 2013. The CHP officer who made the 2013 traffic stop told investigators that radar indicated Grossman had been driving approximately 92 mph on the 101 Freeway, and that he warned the woman that traveling at such a speed could kill or injure someone, Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Scott Shean testified at that hearing.
The CHP officer said he remembered the stop because the woman told him he'd better hope he never needs to go to the Grossman Burn Center, according to Shean, adding that the CHP officer said he thought he'd be denied services at the facility if he ever needed them.
The sheriff's detective testified that a blood-alcohol sample taken from Grossman after she struck the boys showed that her blood-alcohol level was 0.08% -- the amount considered unlawful. Testing done by the Orange County crime lab showed a lower amount below the legal limit, according to a witness called by the defense.
Of the deadly crash, Hobson said in May, "The evidence supports that we have a tragic accident at this twilight time." He said Grossman repeatedly expressed concern about the children once she learned they had been struck.
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Vigil held to remember brothers killed in DUI crash
A community is in shock after two little boys were killed by a suspected DUI driver Tuesday night in Westlake Village.
Grossman was arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies the day of the crash and subsequently released Oct. 1, 2020, on bond.
She was given permission last year to drive after having been barred from driving for more than a year.
Grossman could face a maximum of 34 years to life in prison if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney's Office.
City News Service contributed to this report.