Josh Klinghoffer, the former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist, is being sued for wrongful death and negligence after he allegedly ran over and killed a pedestrian in Alhambra, California, reports say. Variety and TMZ. The lawsuit was filed by the family of Israel Sanchez, the 47-year-old man who was struck by the musician's car in the March 18 incident.
According to the lawsuit, Klinghoffer was allegedly on his phone while driving an SUV and made a left turn while Sanchez was walking across the street in a marked crosswalk. The impact caused blunt force trauma to the head and Sanchez died of his injuries a few hours later. The complaint also states that no arrests were ever made in the incident.
“It was a tragic accident,” Klinghoffer's attorney, Andrew B. Brettler, said in a statement shared with Pitchfork. “After the car hit the pedestrian, Josh immediately pulled over, stopped the vehicle, called 911 and waited until the police and ambulance arrived. He is fully cooperating with the traffic investigation.”
“Sir. Klinghoffer should be arrested and charged with murder. We have video on his cell phone of the moment he struck and killed Israel Sanchez, a beloved father, in a crosswalk,” said Sanchez family attorney Nick Rowley. Variety. “Israel Sanchez went to the grocery store to make soup for his family and never came home. He did everything right, looking for oncoming traffic and obeying pedestrian markings, but tragically Mr. Klinghoffer, in a hurry and on his phone, fatally rear-ended him with a large SUV. The loss and grief the Sanchez family now faces is immense. We will not stop until there is accountability and justice for Mr. Sanchez and his family.”
Klinghoffer played guitar with the Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 until 2019, when he was replaced by longtime member John Frusciante. Klinghoffer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 2012, making him the youngest ever inductee at the time. Since leaving the band, he has been performing as a touring member of Pearl Jam and Jane's Addiction.
