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Josh Klinghoffer, former guitarist of Red Hot Chili Peppers, has accepted a plea deal to avoid jail time in a vehicular manslaughter case on May 28, 2025.
According to Billboard's report, Klinghoffer hit 47-year-old Israel Sanchez with his 2022 GMC Yukon on March 18, 2024. Sanchez was pronounced dead at the hospital. In July 2024, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the former guitarist.
According to the media outlet's report, Josh Klinghoffer was a touring guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers in the late 2000s. In 2010, he joined the band after John Frusciante left.
In 2019, he left the band when Frusciante returned. After leaving the band, Klinghoffer was the touring guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam and released solo music under the name Pluralone.
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More details on Josh Klinghoffer's vehicular manslaughter case
According to Billboard's May 28, 2025, report, Josh Klinghoffer was sentenced to one year of informal probation and 60 days of community labor. Additionally, he was ordered to take a driver safety class and pay restitution.
On Wednesday, a prosecutor warned him that the next time he kills someone while driving, he might be charged with murder.
"If you continue to drive while distracted, and as a result of your driving someone is killed, you can be charged with murder," the prosecutor said.
Israel Sanchez's only daughter, Ashley Sanchez's attorneys stated that the surveillance footage showed that the guitarist was driving while he was "distracted." They also pointed out that moments before the accident occurred, Klinghoffer was on his phone while driving.
"Video of the incident shows that defendant Josh Adam Klinghoffer made no braking or slowing motion until after he fatally struck Israel Sanchez, indicating that defendant was likely driving while distracted," Ashley Sanchez's attorneys stated.
On Wednesday, Ashley Sanchez remembered her father. According to People's report, her father was walking to the grocery store the day of the fatal accident to purchase ingredients for soup for his family.
She praised Israel Sanchez for being an "extraordinary grandfather" to her kids, and also shared that she would miss his homemade meals.
"My father was an extraordinary grandfather to my children. His absence has left an irreversible void in our lives. [He was] the heart of our family. His meals were more than just food. They were expressions of love and care," Sanchez said.
What did Josh Klinghoffer say about being dismissed from Red Hot Chili Peppers?
In an interview with Rolling Stone in January 2020, Klinghoffer shared how he was dismissed from the band. He stated the members sat him down, and explained that John Frusciante was rejoining the band. The former guitarist said that he expected it, as he never thought of replacing Frusciante. He wished the members well.
When asked about the departure announcement the band did on Instagram, Josh Klinghoffer stated that he did not write the post, and he assumed bass guitarist Flea wrote it, as the two were close.
The former member of Red Hot Chili Peppers said the announcement "felt like a death," and he spent the day with a heavy heart.
"It truly felt like a death, but how many times do you get to walk away from a death and live the rest of your life? So I sat there in the backyard with a really heavy heart; it was a truly emotional afternoon, and this is just something that, for me, is nice to feel because I don't really get to slow down and smell the emotions very often," Josh Klinghoffer said.
Josh Klinghoffer participated in Elton John and Brandi Carlile's album Who Believes in Angels? Which was released on April 4, 2025.
