Former Major League Baseball star Royce Clayton broke down in tears Friday as he recounted to a jury how his longtime friend and fellow ballplayer Scott Erickson revealed that he saw wealthy socialite Rebecca Grossman slam into two young brothers on a crosswalk.
Clayton's Emotional Testimony
Clayton, 56, a 17-year MLB shortstop, testified that less than 24 hours after the horrific crash that killed Mark, 11, and Jacob Iskander, 8, he ran into Erickson, 58, at an oceanside Malibu restaurant where his friend of 30 years was casually drinking a beer and eating a burger. He also said Erickson texted him the day after the crash, cheerfully writing: 'Hey dude…..I’m drinking your last IPA you left here at the house….Nothing to worry about.'
Testifying at the civil wrongful death trial of Grossman, 64, and Erickson, her former lover, Clayton had to pause and wipe his eyes with tissues as he recalled the phone call in which Erickson told him he and Rebecca, both driving Mercedes SUVs at high speed with her just behind him, were 'f***ing flying' toward the crosswalk in Westlake Village, west of Los Angeles.
'Did Mr Erickson tell you on the phone that night that he and Ms Grossman were racing down the street….He saw the children in the crosswalk. He swerved and she hit the children,' asked Brian Panish, attorney for the dead boys' parents.
'Yes,' responded Clayton, adding that Erickson said: 'He swerved and kept going. He went to her house (Grossman’s nearby lakeside home)….and decided to jog back to the scene of the accident.'
When Panish asked if Erickson told him that after he’d passed the crosswalk, 'he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Rebecca Grossman hit both boys,' Clayton took a deep breath, nodded slightly and said 'Yes.'
Background of the Case
Erickson was not in court in Van Nuys, California, Friday to listen to his one-time pal’s testimony. Grossman, who has already been convicted of killing the boys, is serving 15 years to life in prison after a jury at her February 2024 criminal trial found her guilty of two counts each of second degree murder and vehicular manslaughter, plus one of hit-and-run.
Her legal team at her murder trial pushed a defense strategy that blamed the deadly crash on Erickson, who was driving his black Mercedes just ahead of Grossman after the two had earlier shared cocktails. But the 6ft 4in former pro-pitcher, who never appeared at Grossman’s six-week criminal trial, was only slapped with a misdemeanor reckless driving charge that was dismissed after he made a public service announcement to high school students about the importance of safe driving.
Despite the lack of criminal charges against him, the dead brothers’ parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, named Erickson in their civil lawsuit alongside Grossman, holding him equally responsible for the fatal crash. The grieving couple are seeking, in the words of their attorney, 'tens and tens and tens of millions' in damages for the loss of their beloved boys.
Defense Arguments
Grossman’s defense team in the civil trial called the crash a 'tragic, horrible accident,' said she didn’t see the boys on the crosswalk, that 'there were other factors involved,' and that she wasn’t 'impaired' with alcohol and drugs as the Iskanders’ lawyers allege. Erickson, who played for six MLB teams during his 15-year baseball career, winning the World Series with the Minnesota Twins in 1991, vehemently denies any blame, insisting that Grossman was the only one to blame. His attorneys say that the MLB All-Star drove through 'without hitting them' and 'he was not drunk.'
Details of the Incident
Erickson was having an affair with Rebecca when she was separated from her plastic surgeon husband Dr. Peter Grossman, who is also a defendant in the lawsuit as the owner of the Mercedes she was driving at the time of the crash. At the time of the terrible September 2020 crash, father of four Clayton was baseball coach at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village where one of the victims, Mark Iskander, was a sixth grader. Grossman’s two children attended the same school.
Clayton told the jury that earlier in the day of the tragedy, he had drinks with Erickson and Grossman at Julio’s Agave restaurant in Westlake Village and the three intended to drive back to her home to watch a presidential debate. But when he called Erickson to ask directions to Grossman’s house, his old friend told him, 'There’s been a horrible accident. You can’t come,' the court heard.
After Erickson described the horrific crash, Clayton told the court, 'I panicked. I didn’t know who was hit. I have children that live in the community. The first thing I thought of was my children. I tried to call my wife to make sure my children were at home. As a parent, that’s your first instinct – to protect your family.'
The next day, early in the evening and less than 24 hours after the crash, Clayton was surprised to run into Erickson at a restaurant in Malibu, where he lived. 'He was eating a hamburger and having a beer,' he told jurors.
Clayton's Moral Struggle
Clayton was troubled by the loss of the Iskander boys. 'It was weighing on me,' he said. 'It was a horrible thing to happen to children. You put yourself in the place of the parents of those children and it’s unimaginable.' He sought the advice of a cousin, a former deputy who put him in touch with police investigating the crash. At first, he admitted, he was 'conflicted' about reporting what his old pal had told him because, growing up in the tough LA neighborhood Inglewood, that would be considered 'snitching.' But he decided to do the right thing and tell his story to police. 'I could not believe what had happened. It was devastating. Two young lives were lost.'
Clayton told the court that after the crash he advised Erickson to consult an attorney and even texted the name of a lawyer to him. He said that Erickson texted him a day after the crash: 'Hey dude…..I’m drinking your last IPA you left here at the house….Nothing to worry about.' He said that Erickson’s lack of accountability 'did not sit well with me.' 'The right thing to do would have been to stop.' Because of Erickson’s actions the night of the accident, Clayton said, 'I don’t speak to Scott any more,' though he did admit that they have been in contact 'occasionally' since the crash.
Clayton told Erickson’s attorney Jeff Braun that although Erickson had drunk a beer and two margaritas earlier in the day of the crash, 'it never came to my mind that he was impaired,' after they left the restaurant to drive back to Grossman’s house. But he sparred with Braun over the word 'racing' which the Iskander’s legal team have consistently accused Erickson and Grossman of doing just before she mowed down the brothers. When Braun pointed out that in an earlier deposition, he said, 'I can’t say he (Erickson) said racing with certainty. From what he told me I assumed he was racing.' On the witness stand Friday, Clayton told Braun he was using 'semantics,' and said, 'I don’t remember exactly what he said.' But he added, 'Erickson said “we were f***ing flying down the street.”'
