WESTLAKE VILLAGE — Two brothers were fatally injured when they were hit by a speeding Mercedes while crossing a street in Westlake Village with their family, and the motorist — a co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation — was arrested on suspicion of DUI and vehicular manslaughter, authorities said Wednesday.
The crash occurred at about 7:10 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Triunfo Canyon Road and Saddle Mountain Drive, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
One boy died at the scene and the other boy died at a hospital a few hours later, the Sheriff’s Department reported. Their names were withheld pending notification of their relatives.
Broadcast reports said the older boy was 11 and died at the scene, while the younger brother was reported to be either 8 or 9.
Sheriff’s officials said six family members were crossing the three-way intersection — which does not have a stoplight — in a marked crosswalk when the mother heard a car speeding toward them and both parents reached out to protect two of their children, but the two boys were too far out in the intersection and were struck.
Rebecca Grossman, 57, was booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and DUI, and her bail was set at $2 million, the Sheriff’s Department reported.
Capt. Salvador Becerra said sheriff’s officials think speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, and were also investigating the possibility that Grossman might have left the scene.
Video from the scene showed a scooter in the street, a helmet and roller blades on a sidewalk near the crash location, and a white Mercedes with front-end damage.
Triunfo Canyon Road was closed in the area while an investigation was conducted into the circumstances of the crash.
Grossman is the wife of Dr. Peter Grossman, who is the director of the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills and son of the center’s late founder, A. Richard Grossman. Rebecca Grossman is also co-founder and chairwoman of the Grossman Burn Foundation. She is the former publisher of Westlake Magazine.
There was no immediate comment from the Grossman Burn Foundation.
Before moving to West Hills, the Grossman Burn Center was headquartered at Sherman Oaks Hospital, where founding Dr. A. Richard Grossman began treating burn patients in 1969, according to the center’s website. The burn center grew into a 30-bed, free-standing unit by 1978.
It is one of the largest burn centers in the world.
Dr. Peter Grossman joined the practice in 1995. The burn center moved to West Hills Hospital in 2010, and the elder Dr. Grossman died in 2014.
Anyone with information on Tuesday’s incident was urged to call the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at 818-878-1808.
Source: Los Angeles Daily News