A Southern California socialite was found guilty Friday of murder and other charges in the hit-and-run deaths of two young brothers in a crosswalk more than three years ago.
Authorities said Rebecca Grossman, wife of a prominent Los Angeles burn doctor, fatally struck Mark Iskander, 11, and brother Jacob, 8, while speeding behind a car driven by then-lover Scott Erickson, a former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher.
The jury found Grossman guilty on all counts: Two felony counts each of second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter, and one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. She faces 34 years to life in prison.
It’s a case where a pedestrian was killed by a motorist in the US. It’s lucky they even brought a case, much less got a conviction.
I’d ask for evidence you have to back up the implicit claim that it’s unlikely that someone would recklessly kill a person with a car and actually get charged for, but I know I would just receive downvotes and no actual evidence. This is lemmy, after all, and you’re shitting on America. That’s the only important thing.
Adding insult to injury (or death), 60% of the 238 motorists found to be at fault or suspected of a crime in the death of a pedestrian faced no criminal charges. When drivers did face criminal charges, punishment was often light. Even more confounding, licenses were rarely suspended. Of those few people who were charged with a crime, less than 60% had their driving privileges suspended or revoked for even one day. 40% of those convicted faced no more than a day in jail.