According to pitchfork.com, Josh Klinghoffer, the former guitarist of Red Hot Chili Peppers, accepted a no-jail plea deal after being charged with alleged misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in September 2024 for allegedly driving over and killing pedestrian Israel Sanchez in Alhambra, California. Klinghoffer originally pleaded not guilty through his lawyer, Blair Bernholz Berk, when the charges were first filed.

When appearing in the courtroom on Wednesday, May 28, Klinghoffer pleaded no contest to alleged misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. Los Angeles County Judge Rosa Fregoso sentenced the musician to one year of informal probation and 60 days of community labor, as well as requiring the artist to complete a driver safety class and pay restitution, the amount will be determined at a later date.

After Klinghoffer entered the plea, a prosecutor read a statement warning him about distracted driving again in the future: “If you continue to drive while distracted, and as a result of your driving someone is killed, you can be charged with murder.” Klinghoffer said that he understood, reports Rolling Stone.

Back in July 2024, Sanchez’s family sued Klinghoffer for alleged wrongful death and negligence, claiming that the 47-year-old man was allegedly struck by the musician’s car when he failed to yield at a crosswalk that allegedly resulted in Sanchez’s death hours later due to blunt-force trauma to the head. The lawsuit claimed that Klinghoffer allegedly was on his phone while driving the SUV and that allegedly no arrest was initially made in the incident despite camera footage.

Photo Credit: Stephen Hoffmeister