Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist accepts plea deal in fatal collision
Musician Josh Klinghoffer, who has performed with Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, accepted a plea deal on Wednesday, May 28, to avoid jail time in connection with a fatal pedestrian collision in Alhambra last March, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
Klinghoffer, 45, was sentenced to one year of informal probation and 60 days of community labor after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, DA spokeswoman Pamela Johnson said. He was also ordered to complete a driver safety course and pay restitution. A progress and restitution hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19.
On March 18, 2024, Israel Sanchez, 47, was walking to a grocery store when he entered a protected crosswalk at Main Street and Meridian Avenue and was struck by Klinghoffer’s SUV, officials said.
Sanchez fell to the ground and was dragged a short distance before the vehicle came to a stop, according to video footage provided by the family’s attorney. He later died at the hospital.
Klinghoffer remained at the scene and was not taken into custody at the time.
In July, the victim’s daughter, Ashley Sanchez, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the musician, alleging Klinghoffer had been using his phone while driving and that the SUV lacked a license plate at the time of the crash.
Klinghoffer’s attorney in the civil case, Andrew B. Brettler, said in a previous statement that Klinghoffer “immediately pulled over, stopped the vehicle, called 911, and waited until police and the ambulance arrived.”
He initially pleaded not guilty to the charge.