Why is Rebecca Grossman's case DELAYED again? Socialite ran over Iskander kids in 2020
In September 2020, Rebecca Grossman ran over two boys Mark and Jacob Iskander with her Mercedes in West Lake, California. The 57-year-old was charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter for running over the kids aged 11 and 9. The video of the tragic incident is in possession of authorities and investigators had noted alcohol and street racing could've been contributing factors leading to the incident. 14 months since the accident, a preliminary hearing in the case remains pending to date with Grossman having managed to evade the hearing yet again on December 1.
"The children were walking with their family. It is a very tragic situation. The mother and father were able to pull the other two children back in time, and the vehicle struck the two other children," Capt Salvador Becerra of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said at the time to ABC confirming Mark had died on scene while Jacob died at the hospital. The Sheriff's Department believed Grossman, the co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation could have sped off after the collision with one of the brothers who was dragged 100 feet on the hood of the car before Grossman braked. She ran the boy over again after he fell off the hood.
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Why is Rebecca Grossman's case delayed again?
Grossman, 58, prior to being named a suspect in the Iskanders' case was also allegedly involved in another speeding accident. Jeffrey Hammer had claimed that Grossman ran a red light while driving 65 miles in a 40 mile per hour zone and landed into the back of his car, according to a Daily Mail article. However, insurers determined Grossman and Hammer were both equally responsible for the accident but she then filed a suit for personal injury despite telling police at the accident scene that she wasn't hurt. She was paid $100,000 insurance with an additional $15,000 in repairs for her Mercedes.
Coming back to the recent case, judge Shellie Samuels said "It’s been a year and two months since it happened," Samuels said. "The victims’ family needs this case to go forward." She had blasted Grossman in September for not showing up to five previously scheduled court appearances after which she ordered her to show up in court on December 1. Grossman's preliminary hearing was delayed yet again on Wednesday after the court was informed that her attorney Richard Sutton had taken ill and was unable to go forward with the case. "Two counts of murder will take a while to get to a preliminary hearing but not this long," Samuels said before urging Grossman to find a new attorney who will treat the case as "priority". She ordered the socialite to find someone who would to be prepared for a preliminary trial "no later than March" 2022.
Grossman is headed back to court on January 7 and Samuels said, "I want you and your new attorney here." The January appearance will allow Grossman's defense to prepare for two months before a preliminary hearing where prosecution will present evidence in court. Samuels will then decide if Grossman should be ordered to stand trial or not. She apologized to the Iskander family saying, "I'm sorry but my hands are tied." Back at the September 14 trial, she said in court, "We can't keep continuing this. This is a serious case. These victims lost two children - it's detrimental to them that this is taking so long." She added, "They need to hear the evidence. They want to know what happened. They probably don’t know exactly what happened. They are entitled to that." Samuels said it was "unfair" on the Iskander family for the case to go on for more than a year and had sympathized with them for their suffering.