Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson told a teenage girl that he’d “ruin” her and her family if she recalled seeing him at the scene of a 2020 Westlake Village crash that killed two children, according to testimony from an ongoing trial.
As reported by the Orange County Register, Alexis Grossman, 19, took the stand at Van Nuys Superior Court on Friday in the trial of her mother, Rebecca, who is facing murder charges.
Rebecca was allegedly behind the wheel of a car when she hit and killed a pair of brothers, 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander, in September 2020. She’s facing one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death and two counts each for murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Rebecca was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after the crash, but that wasn’t included in the charges. Evidence of her drug and alcohol use can still be used for the other remaining charges, according to prosecutors.
According to the report, Alexis testified she saw Erickson hiding behind a tree near the scene of the deadly crash.
Later, she said, the 1991 MLB All-Star visited the family’s home and threatened her.
“His face was red (and) I could smell alcohol on him,” Alexis Grossman said, per the OC Register. “He was freaking out. I was scared that he might do something to hurt me or my family.”
Erickson is described as being Rebecca’s boyfriend at the time.
There has been some contention as to Rebecca Grossman’s responsibility for the death of the two boys. According to the O.C. Register, a collision reconstruction engineer testified that the case had “room for ambiguity” as he couldn’t be absolutely certain that just one vehicle hit the children, rather than two.
The O.C. Register reported that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Rafael Mejia testified last month and said he didn’t see any indication that more than one vehicle could be involved when he responded to the scene in 2020.
Grossman, who was 57 at the time of the crash, has been married to prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman since 2000. Peter testified in court that the couple had previously agreed to date other people, and he was aware of his wife’s involvement with Erickson.
Rebecca remains out of custody on $2 million bond. If convicted, she could face up to 34 years in prison, according to the O.C. Register.