Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer charged with manslaughter
After being sued for the wrongful death of a pedestrian in California, former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.
The incident, which occurred on March 18th, 2024, involved the guitarist speeding through an intersection and striking 48-year-old Israel Sanchez in Alhambra, California. While no arrests had been made at the time of the collision, Sanchez was pronounced dead later that day after being rushed to a hospital.
According to Deadline, Klinghoffer is expected to be arraigned in court on Thursday, September 26th, 2024, on a misdemeanour charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. This follows the victim’s daughter, Ashley, who had filed a wrongful death suit against the guitarist beginning in July 2024.
The suit alleged that Klinghoffer had been severely distracted when passing through the intersection. In the video that the courts had been studying, one driver could allegedly be seen looking at their cellphone as they sped through the intersection when the incident took place.
In a previous statement, Klinghoffer’s lawyers stated that the entire ordeal was nothing more than a tragic accident, saying, “It was a tragic accident. 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.”
Upon viewing the video footage, however, Sanchez’s attorney Nick Rowley argued that Klinghoffer should face homicide charges for his failure to act in the moment, stating, “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…We will not stop until there is accountability and justice for Mr. Sanchez and his family.”
Klinghoffer has spent time in the funk-rock outfit Red Hot Chili Peppers for a decade, contributing to the albums I’m With You and The Getaway. However, the return of longtime guitarist John Frusciante led to the group parting ways with him going into production on their most recent albums, Endless Love and Return of the Dream Canteen.
Since then, he had become a go-to guitarist for various rock bands, being included on Pearl Jam’s most recent tours and working as a touring guitarist for Jane’s Addiction. He had also been making the rounds on the session scene when guesting on Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder’s most recent solo album, Earthling.
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