Westlake Village’s city manager and someone who served in that role for more than two decades both testified on Tuesday that they were aware of some residents’ safety concerns about an intersection where two children were struck and killed by socialite Rebecca Grossman in a hit-and-run accident.
Robert de Geus, the present city manager, told a Van Nuys jury that after careful review by the city in response to residents’ concerns, no changes were made to improve the safety of the intersection of Triunfo Canyon Road and Saddle Mountain Drive prior to the Sept. 29, 2020 accident in which Mark Iskander, 11, and his 8-year-old brother, Jacob, were struck and killed by a speeding Grossman.
De Geus took over the city manager job in 2019 from Raymond Taylor, who served in that capacity for 25 years until his 2018 retirement. Both men took the stand as defense witnesses Tuesday in trial of a family’s lawsuit against Grossman and two others sued over the hit-run deaths.
According to de Geus, traffic safety issues were previously the responsibility of retired city traffic engineer Mark Wessel. De Geus said that if road safety concerns were reported to Wessel, he would in turn tell de Geus.
De Geus said that if he felt further investigation was warranted, he would report his findings to the city’s public safety committee, which still includes two City Council members. Today as before, if the committee members believe it necessary, they report their conclusions and give recommendations to the full City Council, according to de Geus.
The same process was followed at the intersection before the children’s deaths and the City Council decided no safety upgrades were warranted, according to de Geus.
Taylor told jurors that he heard sirens the night of the accident and learned the details the next day. Taylor said he lived and continues to reside within a mile of the junction of the two streets.
Asked whether he had any concerns about the intersection before the boys were killed, Taylor said traffic safety was Wessel’s responsibility at the time. Taylor said he was aware of some residents’ apprehensions regarding the intersection, but was not allowed to answer because Judge Huey Cotton sustained hearsay objections from one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys. However, Taylor said he does not recall any proposals to place flashing warning lights ahead of the intersection.
The plaintiffs in the civil suit filed are Nancy Iskander and her husband Karim as well as son Zachary. The lawsuit filed in January 2021 contends that Rebecca Grossman and former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson had cocktails and the two later engaged in a speed contest along Triunfo Canyon Road until they reached the crosswalk and the children were struck at about 80 mph in a 45 mph zone by Grossman.
Grossman’s husband, Dr. Peter Grossman, also is a defendant.
Erickson testified earlier in the trial that he was in love at the time with the married Grossman and denied that he was racing her or that he was impaired at the time.
In their court papers, the Iskander attorneys contend that the 62-year-old Grossman tried to flee the scene and likely would have succeeded had her vehicle not automatically shut down due to it sensing the massive impact that had just occurred.
The benefactor then lied to law enforcement about her speed and how much she had to drink, and contended she did not know why her airbag suddenly deployed despite her vehicle sustaining massive front-end damage, the Iskander attorneys further state. Grossman and Erickson have blamed each other for hitting the boys.
Grossman is serving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. In March, a panel of the Second District Court of Appeal upheld the criminal case conviction. Grossman was found guilty Feb. 23, 2024, of two counts each of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run driving.
Rebecca and Peter Grossman are the founders of the Grossman Burn Foundation.