Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer Pleads Not Guilty to Vehicular Manslaughter

Josh Klinghoffer, the former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist who went on to play for Pearl Jam and others, pleaded “not guilty” to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in a California courtroom Thursday.

Klinghoffer did not attend the hearing in person but entered the plea through his lawyer, Blair Berk. The criminal charge, filed quietly in August, stems from a deadly crash on March 18, 2024, in the city of Alhambra, just east of Los Angeles. Klinghoffer, 44, was driving a black 2022 GMC Yukon when his vehicle struck pedestrian Israel Sanchez in a crosswalk. Sanchez, 47, was pronounced dead at a hospital later that day from blunt force trauma.

Sanchez’s family filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against Klinghoffer in July, claiming he was on his cellphone and driving a car with no plates when the incident occurred. The lawsuit claims video suggest Klinghoffer “was likely driving while distracted” and that he “made no braking or slowing motion until after he fatally struck” Sanchez.

A source with knowledge of the investigation tells Rolling Stone that “no criminal intent is alleged” and a review of the evidence determined “there was no phone involved.” A lawyer representing Sanchez’s family tells Rolling Stone that he disagrees. Speaking after the hearing on Thursday, attorney Grayson Yoder said Klinghoffer passed in front of a business “seconds” before the crash and “appears to be holding a phone.”

“If they have exculpatory evidence, it’s never been presented to us,” Yoder tells Rolling Stone. “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.”

“I miss my dad,” Sanchez’s daughter, Ashley Sanchez, said after the hearing. “We’re seeking justice here. I don’t know why Josh is getting just a misdemeanor. It’s not okay. My father was a very great father.”

Klingoffer’s criminal case is due back in court on Oct. 31. The civil case, which is seeking medical costs and damages for pain and suffering, has a hearing set for Oct. 18.

“This was a tragic accident,” Klinghoffer’s camp told Rolling Stone in July. “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 has been a name in the alt-rock world for some time. In 2009, he joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers, replacing his friend, guitarist John Frusciante, but was fired by the band in 2019 when Frusciante returned. He is currently on tour with Pearl Jam as a supplemental musician (he also contributed to the band’s latest album, Dark Matter) and also works with his own band, Pluralone.