Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer pleaded not guilty to the charge of vehicular manslaughter in court in California on Thursday (September 26).
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The incident took place in Alhambra, California on March 18, when pedestrian Israel Sanchez, 47, was hit by a car and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital from blunt force trauma.
Klinghoffer, who has also played with Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction, Iggy Pop and Morrissey, entered his not guilty plea through his lawyer Blair Berk to the charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. The criminal case is due back in court on October 31.
In addition, Sanchez’s family have also sued Klinghoffer in a civil lawsuit for wrongful death and negligence for his alleged role in the man’s death. The suit alleges that Kinghoffer was on his phone while driving a vehicle with no plates when the incident occurred, and argues that video suggests he was “likely driving while distracted”, making “no braking or slowing motion until after he fatally struck” Sanchez.
Josh Klinghoffer performs onstage during Global Citizen VAX LIVE: The Concert To Reunite The World at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Global Citizen VAX LIVE)
Rolling Stone report that a source with knowledge of the case says “no criminal intent is alleged” in the civil action and that a review of the evidence was established that “there was no phone involved”, however this is disputed by a lawyer representing Sanchez’s family, who claims that Klinghoffer “appears to be holding a phone”.
“If they have exculpatory evidence, it’s never been presented to us,” the attorney Grayson Yoder has said. “All I can see is what I see on the video. If he says he’s not on his phone, fine. But it’s the middle of the day, he’s coming into an intersection and there are no brake lights on his vehicle, none, not until a man is hit in the crosswalk. I’m skeptical of exculpatory evidence, and I can’t speak to the DA and their charges, but at the end of the day, in broad daylight, he had many, many opportunities for this not to have happened. There’s no other word for it besides negligence. We allege that it’s gross negligence.”
The civil case, which is seeking medical costs and damages for pain and suffering, has a hearing set for October 18.
Andrew B. Brettler, a lawyer for Klinghoffer, told Pitchfork in July: “This was a tragic accident. Josh immediately pulled over, stopped the vehicle, called 911, and waited until police and the ambulance arrived. He is fully cooperating with the traffic investigation.”
Klinghoffer played guitar with the Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, and in 2020, it was announced that he would be leaving the band. He later said that there were no hard feelings between him and the Chilis. He was later replaced by long-time member John Frusciante.
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