Ex-Dodger says wish he could have saved brothers

Former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson testified that he wishes he could have stopped what happened before two brothers were killed in a 2020 crash involving Rebecca Grossman, as a punitive-damages phase continues after jurors awarded the Iskander family $176 m

When Scott Erickson stepped into court to testify Friday, he described the one moment that still haunts him—seconds before the collision that killed two young brothers in Westlake Village.

Erickson. 58. a former MLB pitcher who also won the World Series and pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers. told jurors he has little left of the money he earned in his career as the case moves toward additional punitive damages. He said “not a day goes by” without wishing he had done something different the night of the crash.

“I feel terrible about what happened. I feel really bad about my actions and some of the terrible behavior I did,” Erickson said. He added that he has not been “very honest,” and told the jury that he believes that if he had been able to stop, he “probably, possibly, could have saved their lives.”

A jury in the civil case has already delivered a major verdict. Rebecca Grossman. 62. is serving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison after she was convicted of second-degree murder for fatally striking Mark and Jacob Iskander—11 and 8—with her Mercedes SUV on Sept. 29, 2020, in Westlake Village. After an eight-week civil trial. jurors on Wednesday awarded their parents. Nancy and Karim Iskander. and their surviving brother a combined $176 million in wrongful death and emotional distress damages.

Now jurors are weighing whether to award additional punitive damages against Grossman and Erickson.

Erickson testified that he had been in a separate AMG Mercedes SUV ahead of Grossman’s vehicle. In the civil trial. jurors found that the two “acted in concert with each other in the course of their activities. leading to the fatal collision.” Erickson said he avoided hitting the brothers. while Grossman did not.

The testimony placed drinking at the center of the night’s events. Witness testimony at both the criminal and civil trials described Erickson and Grossman drinking at a Westlake Village cantina and heading to Grossman’s home in the hours before the crash. The Iskander brothers were with their mother and younger sibling in a crosswalk at Triunfo Canyon Road when witnesses said the two cars came speeding toward them.

Erickson, pressed by the Iskander family’s attorney, faced a different kind of question—how much his actions have cost, and what it might cost on paper.

Brian Panish, the Iskander family’s attorney, told jurors in Van Nuys they needed to award punitive damages to punish Grossman and Erickson and “send a message about their conduct.” He questioned whether Erickson and Grossman are hiding assets.

Erickson told jurors he hasn’t had a job since 2019. He said that although he earned more than $46 million in contracts across his professional career. bad business decisions. a divorce. and taxes have left him with $9. 000 in the bank. a $13. 000 monthly MLB pension. $242. 000 in a retirement account. and $200. 000 in equity in a Las Vegas condo. “I haven’t been able to get a job since the accident,” he said.

Panish accused Erickson of not disclosing information, including a $237,000 withdrawal and an investment in an unidentified “billion-dollar” company.

When Panish asked Erickson, “The punishment should fit the offense. You’d agree with that, right?” Erickson replied, “Yes.”

Asked what could be more morally reprehensible than drinking with Grossman and then getting behind the wheel, Erickson responded: “I guess personally striking the children would be worse.”

The case has also turned on allegations that the crash was not just reckless, but coordinated. Panish argued that the evidence shows Grossman and Erickson were street racing at the time of the crash. Their attorneys deny the claim.

Grossman’s attorney. Esther Holm. told jurors the evidence would show Grossman “had not earned income for many years. since this accident and prior to this accident.” Holm argued that the punitive damages question should not hinge on the family’s shared wealth. Grossman is the co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and the wife of prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman. Holm also said Grossman has no earned income and framed her financial situation in that light.

Panish. however. argued that the Grossmans—who were separated at the time of the crash—tried to conceal the total amount of their assets. He spent a couple of hours Friday questioning Dr. Peter Grossman about what Panish described as a web of trusts, companies, and his wife’s cryptocurrency holdings.

In a series of questions, Panish tried to show jurors that the Grossmans used complex financial structures—trusts, loans, and other measures—to shield money from the court. Panish played a video of Peter Grossman’s deposition in which he said he didn’t know how much money his wife made in 2021.

The attorney also played recordings of prison calls between Rebecca Grossman and her husband. discussing a Coinbase wallet containing her bitcoin. as well as loans worth millions of dollars. Panish played deposition excerpts about a trust to benefit the couple’s children and the transfer of a Georgia property worth about $1 million.

When Panish asked Peter Grossman whether his wife killed the brothers, Peter Grossman replied, “My wife was involved in the accident … I don’t particularly care for the word ‘kills.’”

Panish also alleged that the surgeon did not turn over details of a $25-million contract with a Dallas hospital to the plaintiffs. Peter Grossman denied the accusation.

Grossman’s husband denied financing a documentary about the case, though he acknowledged that some kind of project was in the works. He said he had shown his wife “some rough footage” and that Marla Maples, former wife of President Trump, “has been involved.”

The punitive phase began Thursday, after jurors determined that Grossman had acted with malice and oppression and Erickson had acted with malice, oppression or fraud.

Jurors had already broken down the grief and loss into specific dollar figures. On Wednesday. they determined Nancy and Karim Iskander should receive a combined $59 million for past and future wrongful death damages for the loss of Mark. For Jacob’s death. they assigned another $48 million in past and future damages for the loss of love. companionship. comfort and care. assistance and affection. They also awarded Nancy Iskander another $35 million for serious emotional distress and $34 million to Zachary. their surviving son. for emotional suffering.

The courtroom testimony on Friday brought a stark contrast between the size of those awards and Erickson’s claim of personal financial ruin. But the case is not just about what was lost on the road—jurors are now tasked with deciding what additional punishment. if any. should follow the findings of concerted conduct. drinking. and negligence tied to the deaths of Mark and Jacob Iskander.

Scott Erickson Rebecca Grossman Iskander brothers Westlake Village crash punitive damages Los Angeles Dodgers wrongful death MLB pension Van Nuys courthouse