A wealthy California woman who co-founded a burn center foundation in the Los Angeles area was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Monday for the hit-and-run killings of two children while they were in a crosswalk more than three years ago.

Rebecca Grossman was speeding when she struck and killed Mark Iskander, 11, and his brother Jacob, 8, while they were in a crosswalk in the Los Angeles-area city of Westlake Village on Sept. 29, 2020.

“The loss of these two innocent lives has devastated their family and our community. Ms. Grossman’s blatant disregard for human life is a stark reminder of the grave consequences of irresponsible behavior behind the wheel,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.

A jury convicted Grossman in February on two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death.

  • Clbull@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    I have a lot of questions about this that the article doesn’t explain. How fast was she going? Why was she speeding? What was the speed limit on the road? Was alcohol involved? And why isn’t my country anywhere near as harsh when it comes to vehicular homicide?

    EDIT: an earlier article also linked does explain most of this.

    • 81mph, presumably in an area with a 30mph speed limit
    • Apparently consumed two margaritas according to witnesses even though she was not criminally charged for a DUI. Likely that it was seriously strong tequila and triple sec consumed.
    • Showed zero remorse for the fact she ended lives.
      • FiniteBanjo@lemmy.today
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        5 months ago

        Old Hag thought she was speed racer. The USA has a serious cocaine problem, and I’m not talking about the hood.

    • Skeezix@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      The more advanced a country is, the more they realize that long incarceration does’t really do much in terms of addressing the root problem, and it doesn’t really deter crime. Its only benefit is keeping a certain subset of actively dangerous people from further endangering society. Other than that it merely assuages the anger of society and victims in a tit for tat way. Rehabilitation, if possible, is a more useful approach.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        That said anyone who thinks it’s okay to drink and do 80 through a crosswalk is a dangerous person.