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.
Showing up in the news and being described as a socialite just about guarantees that the person in question is a piece of garbage.
Socialite = “unemployed, but rich”
I think it means “unemployed, rich, woman”
as “unemployed, rich” men tend to get called “entrepeneur”
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.
Jesus! 80 in a 30?!!? That’s fucking insane.
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.
That said anyone who thinks it’s okay to drink and do 80 through a crosswalk is a dangerous person.
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
Cynic in me assumes the victims’ family is richer.
westlake village ain’t the barrio, for sure
Every once in a while they sacrifice one to show us things are “fair”. She probably wasn’t super rich either.
This one was too cut and dry and with extreme negligence, plus it involved young children.
It’s the “run” part that did her in.
I don’t know, I think it was the 81mph in a 30mph zone more than her running.
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It’s hard to get out of running over two kids. But there is an extra level of bad when you try to get away with it. The same for saying you’re “not guilty” and then being found guilty. Owning up to a horrible crime in the moment, especially when it’s not premeditated, counts for a lot. Obviously she would still have jail time, but it wouldn’t have been the maximum, and maybe she could still have a life. Now? Throw the book at her.
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?
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.
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.
If she called 112 nothing would happen… 112 does nothing in the us
If you’re on a GSM network, it should, as per the GSM standard, route your call to whatever the national emergency system is.
Ruling will be overturned in an appeal, she will walk, and it won’t make the news cycle.
Haven’t heard of this story before. What makes you say that?
Ever heard of a guy named Bill Cosby?
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.
Heard of a guy named Harvey Weinstein?
Yes. He’s in prison and appealing his sentence, which is every convicted person’s right. Why?
The New York case was overturned on appeal. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-york-top-court-overturns-former-hollywood-producer-weinsteins-conviction-2024-04-25/
The California conviction is currently under appeal with the same arguments that won the NY appeal. https://apnews.com/article/harvey-weinstein-appeal-california-rape-conviction-ccd871f2c9347a9631dd5328f665df3a
From the first article-
In a bitterly divided 4-3 ruling, the state Court of Appeals said the trial judge made a critical mistake by letting women testify that Weinstein assaulted them, even though their accusations were not part of the charges he faced.
The appeals court said the trial judge compounded the error by ruling that if Weinstein took the witness stand, prosecutors could question him on a wide range of “loathsome” conduct, including bullying and fits of anger toward associates.
So, again, a fuckup. Yes, it sucks that guilty people can be let off due to a fuckup, but justice systems should adhere to certain rules and treat people equally and, in this case, that’s not what happened. Yes, our justice system needs to be better about both, but complaining when things work as they’re supposed to even though the outcome is unfavorable and a guilty person goes free is silly.
Holy shit, I hadn’t heard that it was overturned… man…
She should ask Greg Abbott for a pardon.
She should
askpay Greg Abbott for a pardon.Fixed.
