Rebecca Grossman trial: Teen witness says she saw slain boys' mom scream about 'sons' shoes' after crash

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA: During Rebecca Grossman’s trial, an adolescent witness, described the 'war zone' scene at the pedestrian crossing, where traumatized mother Nancy Iskander was screaming and her son’s shoes were strewn across the road in tragic injuries.

Dorsa Khoedami, 16, testified before the jury on Thursday, February 15, that she had just finished playing tennis when she heard a very loud noise that was very alarming.

Rebecca Grossman faces several charges

Khoedami described hearing a second loud bang and screaming. At the time, Jacob, 8, and Mark, 11, Iskander, were killed in the horrific crash.

According to DailyMail, "I told my mother, let's go," Khoedami said. She then dialed 911 and began running toward the Westlake Village designated crosswalk, where she discovered a distressed Nancy Iskander barefoot and a pair of shoes lying nearby.

Nancy declared, "They are my son's shoes," while she continued to scream. Later, said Khoedami, a schoolmate of Rebecca Grossman's daughter Alexis.

At Van Nuys court on Thursday, Grossman, 60, who was dressed in black pants, a beige blouse, and a black cardigan with a white rose pattern, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the untimely deaths of the Iskander brothers in September 2020.

The affluent socialite is accused of two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. If found guilty of the murders, she could receive a maximum sentence of 34 years to life in prison. 

To every charge, she has entered a not guilty plea. Since her arrest more than three years ago, Grossman—who founded the Grossman Burn Foundation with her husband, renowned plastic surgeon Peter Grossman, has been free on a $2 million bail.

Rebecca Grossman was romantically involved with Scott Erickson

Prosecutors maintain that Rebecca Grossman's car struck and killed the boys, but her defense team argues that the black SUV driven by her then-boyfriend, 56-year-old former professional baseball player Scott Erickson, was the real culprit.

Claiming to have been 'racing' with her, Erickson drove his black SUV through the crosswalk where the Iskanders were walking seconds before Grossman's car. Erickson and Grossman were romantically involved during her divorce from her husband.

In February 2022, a judge ordered him to make a public service announcement for high school students about the significance of safe driving after he was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving.

The defense team for Grossman attempted to convince Judge Joseph Brandolino during the hearing on Thursday to let them simulate the two air bags exploding in the courtroom the way they had in Grossman's Mercedes SUV when the boys were struck.

The judge was swiftly interrupted by prosecutors, who told him, "We do not need to be bringing in airbags and blowing them off in the courtroom." Instead, they asked the judge to order a video demonstration, NYBreaking stated.

William Broadhead, an expert on airbags and seatbelts, told the judge that an airbag's detonation is "it's incredibly loud and explosive, like setting off a cherry bomb."

As a result, the judge decided against holding a demonstration in the courtroom and suggested that the jurors view a video instead.

Rebecca Grossman allowed for seatbelt pretensioner demonstration in court

However, he consented to a demonstration of the 'seatbelt pretensioner' in court, which tightens seatbelts in the event of an accident. It detonates with a controlled explosive device, similar to airbags, but with a far smaller charge.

Judge Brandolino stated that the LA Sheriff 'does not want any pyrotechnics in the courthouse', so even the seatbelt pretensioner was prohibited from the courtroom.

There were five "pyrotechnic devices" in Grossman's car, according to Broadhead, who testified in court. Two of them were for each airbag and one was for the seatbelt pretensioner.

He stated that, "They stun. You don't know what to do. You don't know if it's a bomb or a sniper.... you jump out of your skin."

According to Broadhead, in the instance of Grossman's accident, she would be unable to tell the difference between an impact from a pedestrian and the airbag going off.

"It's very violent and extremely loud. It stuns you and it's confusing if you don't know you've been in an accident."

He continued by saying that Grossman's Mercedes SUV's airbags 'are supposed to go off in a collision with a pedestrian'.