Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Former Guitarist Sued by Daughter of Man He Allegedly Struck With SUV

A former member of the alt-rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers is being sued for negligence and wrongful death in a Los Angeles civil court after he allegedly hit a man while driving his SUV and using his cell phone.

Josh Klinghoffer, who played guitar for the Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009-2019 and is currently a touring member of Pearl Jam, was the motorist behind the wheel of a black 2022 GMC Yukon when it struck Israel Sanchez as he was crossing the street in Alhambra, California, on March 18 at 2:50 p.m., according to a lawsuit filed this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. Ashley Sanchez, the victim’s daughter, states in the suit that video footage shows a phone in the driver’s hand seconds before the Yukon hit her father. In the complaint, she accuses Klinghoffer of distracted driving leading to her father’s death at Huntington Hospital at 5:28 p.m., less than three hours after the SUV struck him.

“He engaged in this conduct despite that knowledge over a period of time such that this horrible outcome was foreseeable and demonstrates a willful disregard for the rights and safety of others,” the suit states of Klinghoffer and his alleged use of a phone while behind the wheel of a car.

Video of the incident obtained by TMZ shows the large SUV failing to slow down while making a left turn after passing a wide median in the Los Angeles suburb. Sanchez, who had the right of way and was crossing the street on foot, was three steps into the intersection, the suit states, when he was struck by the Yukon and thrown across the asphalt; the 47-year-old sustained blunt force trauma to his head.

West Main Street in Alhambra is an east-westbound road that is divided by a center grass median measuring approximately 40 feet. The suit states that Klinghoffer had driven the Yukon across this median while Sanchez was in full view and made no braking or slowing motion before hitting him. 

“It was a tragic accident,” Andrew Brettler, an attorney for Klinghoffer, told TMZ on Thursday after the suit was filed in L.A. “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.”

In the video footage, the driver presumed to be Klinghoffer is seen exiting the vehicle, walking over to the struck man, and then running back to the Yukon. The lawsuit states that Klinghoffer has not been arrested and that no criminal charges have been filed against him following the incident. 

“[Klinghoffer] went off on tour with his band after the incident,” the complaint states. “He has never contacted the family. He has shown no remorse for his behavior.”

A call placed by The Hollywood Reporter to the Alhambra Police Department regarding the status of the investigation into the accident and Sanchez’s death was not immediately returned. 

Klinghoffer left school at 15 to pursue a career in music, and by his early 20s, was writing songs with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a seminal southern California band who at that point had found massive success over their 20-year-and-counting career. He replaced the band’s longtime but on-off again axe man John Frusciante in 2009 and departed a decade later when Frusciante returned to the band. Since then, he has toured with Pearl Jam and Jane’s Addiction.