this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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A wealthy California woman who co-founded a burn center foundation in the Los Angeles area was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Monday for the hit-and-run killings of two children while they were in a crosswalk more than three years ago.

Rebecca Grossman was speeding when she struck and killed Mark Iskander, 11, and his brother Jacob, 8, while they were in a crosswalk in the Los Angeles-area city of Westlake Village on Sept. 29, 2020.

“The loss of these two innocent lives has devastated their family and our community. Ms. Grossman’s blatant disregard for human life is a stark reminder of the grave consequences of irresponsible behavior behind the wheel,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.

A jury convicted Grossman in February on two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death.

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[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 135 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Showing up in the news and being described as a socialite just about guarantees that the person in question is a piece of garbage.

[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world 107 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Socialite = "unemployed, but rich"

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 47 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I think it means "unemployed, rich, woman"

as "unemployed, rich" men tend to get called "entrepeneur"

[–] USSEthernet@startrek.website 5 points 5 months ago

I don't know... I know some non-rich men who go by entrepreneur as well.

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[–] Clbull@lemmy.world 81 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

I have a lot of questions about this ~~that the article doesn't explain. How fast was she going? Why was she speeding? What was the speed limit on the road? Was alcohol involved?~~ And why isn't my country anywhere near as harsh when it comes to vehicular homicide?

EDIT: an earlier article also linked does explain most of this.

  • 81mph, presumably in an area with a 30mph speed limit
  • Apparently consumed two margaritas according to witnesses even though she was not criminally charged for a DUI. Likely that it was seriously strong tequila and triple sec consumed.
  • Showed zero remorse for the fact she ended lives.
[–] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 25 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Jesus! 80 in a 30?!!? That's fucking insane.

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[–] skeezix@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The more advanced a country is, the more they realize that long incarceration does’t really do much in terms of addressing the root problem, and it doesn’t really deter crime. Its only benefit is keeping a certain subset of actively dangerous people from further endangering society. Other than that it merely assuages the anger of society and victims in a tit for tat way. Rehabilitation, if possible, is a more useful approach.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

That said anyone who thinks it's okay to drink and do 80 through a crosswalk is a dangerous person.

[–] Etterra@lemmy.world 68 points 5 months ago (4 children)

I'm impressed that they managed to lock up a rich person for a crime. I'm not going to bother reading the article because I just don't care, but calling her is socialite implies to me that she's old money. I'm not sure whether old money or new money is worse, but both are rich and #eatherich

[–] athairmor@lemmy.world 28 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Cynic in me assumes the victims’ family is richer.

[–] bamfic@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

westlake village ain't the barrio, for sure

[–] Stalinwolf@lemmy.ca 16 points 5 months ago (6 children)

I'm just going to start referring to myself as a socialite. Yeah, I'm pretty much a shut-in who only hangs out with his wife and kid, and yeah, I manage a produce section at a grocery store for a living and only pull about 49k gross, but it sure sounds distinguished, eh?

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 15 points 5 months ago

workers are always preferable to leeches. You do yourself a disfavor by pretending to be haute bourgeoisie.

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[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Every once in a while they sacrifice one to show us things are "fair". She probably wasn't super rich either.

[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 23 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The rich are surprisingly onboard with imprisoning their wives over 40.

[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago
[–] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

This one was too cut and dry and with extreme negligence, plus it involved young children.

[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 54 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Testimony disputing the defense's claim that another vehicle driven by Grossman's ex-boyfriend Scott Erickson struck the boys first, with witnesses stating Erickson's black SUV did not hit them.

So she tried to throw her ex under the bus in her defense, but let's also consider that two people traveling to the same location and back took two separate SUVs instead of coordinating together

[–] toast@retrolemmy.com 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You can't carpool while doing crime. Too many witnesses

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[–] Hux@lemmy.ml 53 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Grossman, now 60, was speeding behind a car driven by her then-lover, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, when she fatally hit the boys, prosecutors have said.

Who the fuck is this person?

As another commenter noted, she’s just listed as a “socialite”—translating to “unemployed idle person of/from wealthy family”. And on top of being a socialite noted for founding a burn victim charity under her husband’s name, she killed a couple of kids while speeding behind her former MLB playing “lover”?

And the defense she offered was,* “If I had seen them, I would have avoided them”.*

No shit, lady. That doesn’t make you a good person. Her response makes it clear she has never experienced accountability for her shitty actions before.

“Listen, Judge—and you too, jury—if I was looking at all the things I was about to drive over, I would have totally not committed manslaughter. I really think I did a terrific job for how fast I was driving behind my lover. I really am the sort of wonderful person who would continue to drive fast and recklessly in a selfish fashion, and would even consider driving my vehicle into a tree rather than run over little boys (if I could see them) or change my behavior in any discernible way (I’ve never needed to before), or suggest that I am accountable for my actions (LOL). You see, when something bad happens (for me), it really needs to be someone else’s fault, or at least people should agree that whatever happened wasn’t that bad and I must have already suffered enough. Don’t you think I’ve suffered enough? I’ve probably suffered the most throughout this whole ordeal, out of anyone. I’m self-convinced everyone agrees with me and I can assure you that I lack the empathy to understand any other viewpoint. I think we are done here. Have the valet bring my car around, the Diamond Backs are in town and I’m feeling in a southwest sort of mood.”

[–] athairmor@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

I’ve met people who think similarly. For them, “I didn’t mean to” is exculpatory. Now, the ones I’ve known were under 12 years old but I can imagine if people let them get away with that enough that thinking might carry over into adulthood.

[–] 555@lemmy.world 28 points 5 months ago (2 children)

It’s the “run” part that did her in.

[–] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

I don't know, I think it was the 81mph in a 30mph zone more than her running.

[–] cybersandwich@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yea probably. But she also ran because she was most likely drunk and she was speeding. So those parts might have also done her in too even if she stopped.

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[–] CMDR_Horn@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ruling will be overturned in an appeal, she will walk, and it won’t make the news cycle.

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Haven't heard of this story before. What makes you say that?

[–] RagingSnarkasm@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Ever heard of a guy named Bill Cosby?

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago (5 children)

That was because the prosecutors were idiots and fucked up majorly.

If there was no situation like that here, it's not going to happen.

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[–] superfes@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

Holy shit, I hadn't heard that it was overturned... man...

[–] 242@lemmy.cafe 18 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Sometimes the Universe is just.

All you had to do is let you someone drive you home after you got drunk on mimosa's at 10am. Oh well.

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[–] Cossty@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago (6 children)

So she got 15 years to life, for hit and run. What would happen if she acually stopped, called 112, and tried to save those kids?

[–] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago

What would happen if she acually stopped, called 112, and tried to save those kids?

She would’ve probably also gotten a DUI, is my guess. Seems like it’s a somewhat common tactic for drunks to flee the scene and sober up so they don’t get the DUI tacked on.

[–] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I guarantee the prosecutor would have plead down the charges to something like only the vehicular manslaughter and not the 2nd degree murder or hit-and-run.

EDIT: Maybe not. She was driving 81mph in a 30mph zone. They definitely wouldn't have charged her with hit-and-run, but I don't know if they could plead down the other charges with such gross neglect like that.

[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 5 months ago

Nothing, because we use 9-1-1 for that here

Jokes aside though she'd go to jail for DUI and speeding that badly almost certainly, the kids are dead either way. Probably get something like 10-25 and not 15-life, though

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[–] Pistcow@lemm.ee 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

She should ask Greg Abbott for a pardon.

[–] RagingSnarkasm@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

She should ~~ask~~ pay Greg Abbott for a pardon.

Fixed.

[–] mysticpickle@lemmy.ca 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Thank God he can't hand those out in California then :>

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