Rebecca Grossman's Lawyer Cross-Examines Crash Reconstructionist In Iskander Wrongful Death Trial

Rebecca Grossman's lawyer Esther Holm began her cross-examination of a crash reconstructionist on Monday (May 18) by confirming he didn't review speed analysis of experts hired by Grossman and her husband, Peter Grossman. Rene Castaneda owns Castaneda Engineering Inc. in Clovis, California. He created animations showing Grossman and Scott Erickson's vehicles on Sept. 29, 2020, when Grossman struck Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander, 8, while speeding in her Mercedes-Benz AMG near Westlake Village in west Los Angeles County. Castaneda testified on Monday (May 18). He will return to the witness stand later (not Tuesday!) for more cross from Holm, who is a partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP. You can watch Castaneda's direct-exam with the Iskanders' lawyer Brian Panish here:    • Crash Expert Details Reenactment of Rebecc...   09:09 "And there were increased ignition cycles on that download. True?" "There were 15 cycles more." 12:07 "So we can agree that the 117 increase in ignition cycles has nothing to do with Ms. Grossman, correct?" "From the time of the accident till the time I inspected it, yes." "Not the totality of it, the first 15, maybe, and again." "You're speculating, aren't you?" "Well, let's just put it this way, there's numerous candidates that would have access to the vehicle to do that, she's amongst them." "Including the sheriff's department?" "Including the sheriff's department, and the tow operators, another thing that is unusual in this particular." 24:31 "Did I didn't see in your deposition any attempts that you made to calculate the change in velocity over time, am I correct that you did not indicate that in your deposition?" "Only as this pertained to Mark Iskander." "I'm talking about the change in velocity over time dealing with the EDR." "No, I didn't run the calculation for that." 28:31 pedestrian protection system "That is something unlike the airbag that is designed to protect, protect the pedestrian on the outside of the vehicle, correct?" "Yes, and it functions well when a vehicle is traveling at about 40 miles per hour. Once you start exceeding 40, it's not designed, it's not going to work." 35:14 "So, were you provided with a copy of the audio file from the fire dispatch from LA County when Ms. Grossman was on the line with the Mercedes emergency response, which is like an OnStar? Did you get that? Did they give you that?" "I don't believe I have. I don't recall reviewing that." "Is that something you would have wanted to listen to, or to have to do a thorough evaluation?" "No, I think it's not necessary for purposes of my analysis." 38:28 "f you say the vehicle was traveling at 72 miles, 72.7 miles per hour at the time of impact without braking, how far would the vehicle have coasted after impact? Did you calculate that?" "The calculations I perform for deceleration council are not for the entirety of the path. I know braking occurred after impact. I know there's a deceleration when she goes through the video. Once she exits the video, I didn't do any further deceleration calculations." 41:30 "And what we're looking at here, we can see the approach to the crosswalk, correct?" "Yes, barely on the edge of the image." 44:38 "if a car is in the number one lane here, they're not going to have a clear shot of the entire crosswalk, correct?" "It depends on park vehicles, but they should have a pretty clear view of most of the crosswalk at that position." 47:19 "Okay, now let's show the other side of the crosswalk." 55:48 "And I think I think you testified earlier that you estimated that the children were walking at a pace of about three, or traveling at a pace of about three miles an hour, is that what you said?" "Yes." 01:02:56 "Now you used the location of Mark in order to calculate speed, is that correct?" "I use Mark's position at the time of impact and at rest to do an independent pedestrian throw analysis to derive the speed of Grossman at impact." 01:04:40 "Okay, and the fact that there's no debris within 50 or 60 feet of the crosswalk that could call into question the exact location of the impact, true?" "No, as a matter of fact, what it does is verify and validate that Ms. Grossman is traveling at a high-rate of speed just by acknowledging the time duration of the crash and projectile motion." 01:12:11 "Well, I think the physical evidence indicates that he was thrown in the direction of travel of the Grossman vehicle, so forward of the Grossman vehicle." "So, let's put that simulation back up, and this time let's play it."