Josh Klinghoffer, the previous guitarist of Crimson Scorching Chili Peppers, has accepted a no-jail plea deal after being charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with out gross negligence in September 2024 for allegedly driving over and killing pedestrian Israel Sanchez in Alhambra, California. Klinghoffer initially pleaded not responsible by means of his lawyer, Blair Bernholz Berk, when the fees had been first filed. Pitchfork has reached out to legal professionals for Klinghoffer and Sanchez’s household for remark.
When showing within the courtroom on Wednesday (Could 28), Klinghoffer pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with out gross negligence. Los Angeles County Decide Rosa Fregoso sentenced the musician to at least one 12 months of casual probation and 60 days of group labor, in addition to requiring him to finish a driver security class and pay restitution, the quantity of which can be decided at a later date.
After Klinghoffer entered the plea, a prosecutor learn an announcement warning him about distracted driving once more sooner or later: “When you proceed to drive whereas distracted, and on account of your driving somebody is killed, you might be charged with homicide.” Klinghoffer stated that he understood, studies Rolling Stone.
In July 2024, Sanchez’s household sued Klinghoffer for wrongful demise and negligence, claiming that the 47-year-old man was struck by the musician’s automotive when he didn’t yield at a crosswalk within the March 18 accident, leading to Sanchez’s demise hours later on account of blunt-force trauma to the top. The lawsuit claimed that Klinghoffer was on his telephone whereas driving the SUV, and that no arrest was initially made within the incident regardless of digicam footage.
Klinghoffer’s lawyer within the civil case, Andrew B. Brettler, known as it “a tragic accident” in an announcement to Pitchfork. “After the automotive struck the pedestrian, Josh instantly pulled over, stopped the automobile, known as 911, and waited till police and the ambulance arrived. He’s absolutely cooperating with the site visitors investigation,” stated Brettler.
The Sanchez household’s lawyer, Nick Rowley, advised Selection that “Mr. Klinghoffer ought to be arrested and prosecuted for murder.” Rowley continued: “We have now a video of him on his cellphone on the time he hit and killed Israel Sanchez, a loving father, in a crosswalk. Israel Sanchez was on his method to the grocery retailer to make soup for his household and by no means got here dwelling. He did every part proper, on the lookout for oncoming site visitors and abiding by pedestrian signage, however tragically Mr. Klinghoffer, in a rush and on his telephone, hit him fatally from behind with a big SUV. The loss and grief that the Sanchez household now faces is immense. We is not going to cease till there may be accountability and justice for Mr. Sanchez and his household.”
Klinghoffer performed guitar with the Crimson Scorching Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, when he was changed by returning member John Frusciante. Klinghoffer was inducted into the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame with the band in 2012, making him the youngest inductee ever on the time. Since leaving the band, he carried out as a touring member of Jane’s Habit earlier than their abrupt breakup, and stays an energetic touring guitarist in Pearl Jam.
