A woman from Hidden Hills faces murder charges for running over two boys in Westlake Village in September and then fleeing the crash site, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles district attorney’s office said it accused Rebecca Grossman – the 57-year-old co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation – of two criminal charges, each of murder and manslaughter, with gross negligence. She also faces a felony driving-conviction charge, resulting in death.
Pamela Johnson, a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office, said Grossman pleaded not guilty to the charges and that the bail was set at $ 2 million. Grossman posted bail after his charge on Wednesday, Johnson said.
Grossman’s lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment.
Prosecutors allege that on September 29, Grossman drove too fast on Triumph Canyon Road in Westlake Village, hitting and killing Mark, 11, and Jacob Iskander, 8, who were crossing the street that night at a crosswalk marked with their parents .
After hitting the boys, prosecutors said, Grossman continued driving until he stopped about 400 meters from the accident site.
After the accident, LA County Sheriff’s Department officials said six relatives were crossing the three-way intersection – which has no traffic lights – when the mother heard a car coming towards her. Both parents reached out to stop their children, but the two boys were too far away at the intersection.
One boy died at the scene, while the other child was pronounced dead in a hospital shortly after the accident.
The video of the accident showed a scooter on the street, a helmet and skates on a sidewalk near the accident site and a damaged white Mercedes in the front.
The Grossman Burn Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Grossman Burn Centers Inc., which treats burn victims worldwide. Grossman received numerous honors for his work on human rights, preventing domestic violence and other humanitarian efforts, including the American Heart Assn’s “Woman of the Year” award. In 2007, according to the foundation’s website.
If convicted on all charges, Grossman faces a maximum possible sentence of 34 years in state prison.
Faith E. Pinho, editor of the Times, contributed to this report.