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Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has been sued for wrongful death for allegedly running over and killing a pedestrian in Alhambra, California, Variety and TMZ report. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the family of Israel Sanchez, the 47-year-old man who died after being hit while walking in a crosswalk.
According to the lawsuit, the collision happened the afternoon of March 18, when Klinghoffer was allegedly on his phone while driving a black GMC Yukon with no license plates. The musician made a left turn at an intersection with a marked crosswalk, striking Sanchez, who died later that day due to blunt force trauma from his injuries. No arrest was made in the incident.
“It was a tragic accident,” Klinghoffer’s attorney, Andrew B. Brettler, said in a statement to TMZ. “After Josh struck this pedestrian in the intersection, he immediately pulled over, stopped the car, called 911 and waited until police and the ambulance arrived. Obviously, he’s cooperating with the police throughout the traffic investigation. This was purely a tragic accident.”
“Mr. Klinghoffer should be arrested and prosecuted for homicide. We have a video of him on his cell phone at the time he hit and killed Israel Sanchez, a loving father, in a crosswalk,” the family’s attorney, Nick Rowley, told Variety. “Israel Sanchez was on his way to the grocery store to make soup for his family and never came home. He did everything right, looking for oncoming traffic and abiding by pedestrian signage, but tragically Mr. Klinghoffer, in a rush and on his phone, hit him fatally from behind with a large SUV. The loss and grief that 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 to 2019, when their longtime guitarist, John Frusciante, decided to rejoin the group. He has since been performing as a touring member of Pearl Jam and Jane’s Addiction.
