A successful guitarist who played with Pearl Jam has been accused of fatally running over a grandfather with his car while browsing on his phone.
Josh Klinghoffer, guitarist for Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers, is being sued by Israel Sanchez’s family after running over and killing the man with his car on March 18.
The lawsuit claims there is video evidence that Klinghoffer was on the phone at the time of the accident.
Sanchez’s daughter, Ashley, spoke out about her father after the lawsuit was announced.
“My father was known for being a great chef, the most talented in his family, the best grandfather, always full of love and joy,” Ashley said in a press release.
“His smile was so contagious. His life was taken by a careless act by a person who didn’t bother to look where he was driving.”
According to the lawsuit, the guitarist was driving his GMC Yukon through Alhambra, California, when he turned left and struck Sanchez, who was in the crosswalk.
It is alleged that the grandfather was dragged across the asphalt due to the accident.
Sanchez suffered blunt force trauma to the head and died hours later.
The video released on TMZ showed a man being hit in a crosswalk by a black SUV.
The driver of the car would have stopped after running over the pedestrian and approached the victim to check on him.
However, the driver reportedly turned around and immediately got back into the car.
Klinghoffer’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, also spoke about the lawsuit, referring to it as a “tragic accident.”
“After Josh hit this pedestrian at the intersection, he immediately stopped, stopped the car, called 911 and waited until the police and ambulance arrived,” Brettler told TMZ.
“Obviously, he is cooperating with police throughout the traffic investigation. This was a purely tragic accident.”
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