LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles jury has awarded $176 million to the parents of two young brothers killed in a hit-and-run collision when a California socialite's car struck them in a crosswalk nearly six years ago.
The jury found both Rebecca Grossman and Scott Erickson, a former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, negligent in the deaths of 11-year-old Mark Iskander and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander.
The damages awarded Wednesday were for wrongful death and emotional distress. The trial judge will ultimately determine how much each defendant has to pay.
Court was scheduled to resume Friday as jurors must still decide whether to award punitive damages to the boys' parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander.
Grossman was sentenced in 2024 to serve 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving in a separate criminal trial. She is a co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and the wife of a prominent burn doctor.
The boys' parents also filed lawsuits in civil court against both Grossman and Erickson, who was driving ahead of her when the Iskander brothers were killed. That trial began in April.
The deadly crash occurred on the evening of Sept. 29, 2020, in Westlake Village, a city on the western edge of Los Angeles County.
Brian Panish, the Iskander family's attorney, argued that Grossman and Erickson were both driving recklessly after drinking margaritas together. The two were dating at a time when Grossman and her husband were separated.
Panish said Grossman was driving 73 mph (117 kph) when her car struck the boys in a crosswalk on a road where the posted speed limit was 45 mph (72 kph).
He said Grossman was following Erickson, who was also speeding and narrowly missed the family.
“This was a totally preventable collision," Panish told the jury in closing arguments Wednesday. “They went out for a walk and they never came home.”
Grossman's attorney, Esther Holm, denied that her client was intoxicated. She said Grossman was distracted when she saw the boys' mother dive out of the way of Erickson's vehicle.
“Ms. Grossman was not driving impaired," Holm told the jury. “She did not see the children, as her attention was diverted by Ms. Iskander.”
Erickson's attorney, Jeff Braun, called the boys' deaths a tragedy but emphasized that the vehicle he was driving "made no contact with the children.”
FILE - Nancy Iskander, left, holding the hand of her husband, Karim, leaves Van Nuys Courthouse June 10, 2024, in Van Nuys, Calif., after attending the sentencing hearing in the murder trial of Rebecca Grossman, who is charged in the deaths of their two sons, Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A former senior CIA official accused of stealing over $40 million worth of gold bars from the federal government and storing them in the basement of his Virginia home was ordered to remain jailed until his trial after a hearing Friday where a defense attorney accused prosecutors of smearing the official with “sensational,” irrelevant allegations.
The defendant, David J. Rush, has both the means and motive to flee while the case against him is pending, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ruled, citing Rush's professional experience.
“He's in a different position than most people to flee and avoid detection by law enforcement,” Fitzpatrick said.
Rush is charged with fraudulently claiming tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for military leave after he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 2015. He was arrested last month after investigators searched his home and seized more than 300 gold bars, roughly $2 million in U.S. currency and about 35 luxury watches, according to an FBI agent's affidavit.
Rush's attorney, Jessica Carmichael, noted that Rush isn't charged with any crimes related to the discovery of the gold bars, which she referred to as “basically a non-issue” and “nothing more than a sensational tidbit.” She said Rush properly obtained the gold bars and kept them locked in a safe in his basement.
“Mr. Rush never claimed they were his,” she said.
Between last November and March, Rush requested and received a “significant quantity" of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for "work-related expenses,” according to the FBI affidavit. Justice Department prosecutor Gavin Tisdale said Rush wasn't supposed to have the gold bars at his home.
“That's the issue — his skirting of rules and regulations,” he said.
Tisdale briefly summarized the case against Rush in open court after a portion of the hearing was sealed from the public. The evidence against Rush “grows stronger by the day,” Tisdale told the magistrate.
“Mr. Rush simply cannot be trusted to abide by this court's conditions,” he said.
Rush enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy Reserves as a lieutenant in 2015, according to the affidavit.
Authorities claim Rush lied about his education and military background on job applications, falsely claiming to be a former Navy pilot who graduated with a bachelor's degree from Clemson University in South Carolina and a master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
Investigators determined that he didn't serve as a Navy pilot and didn't attend either school.
FILE - The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency is displayed at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., April 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
