Lawsuit accuses guitarist for Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers of distracted driving in deadly crash

A lawsuit filed against a guitarist who's performed with Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers accuses him of distracted driving just before a crash that killed a 47-year-old man walking through a marked crosswalk in Los Angeles County. 

Video released Wednesday by attorneys representing the family of Israel Sanchez, the man killed, shows a crash in which the driver gets out of the vehicle and stays with the person struck before police arrive. The family of Israel Sanchez is suing the driver, Josh Klinghoffer, who played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers for 10 years and has worked with several other artists.

Klinghoffer is currently on tour with Pearl Jam, which is mentioned in the court filings alongside allegations that he has not contacted Sanchez's family or apologized since the deadly crash the afternoon of March 18. 

The lawsuit does not accuse Klinghoffer of hit-and-run -- and the video clearly shows a driver tending to the person hit -- but rather it alleges that Klinghoffer was not paying attention. Meanwhile, Andrew Brettler, an attorney for Klinghoffer, said it was a "tragic accident" and he's been fully cooperating with investigators.

"This was a tragic accident," Brettler said in a statement. "After the car struck the pedestrian, Josh immediately pulled over, stopped the vehicle, called 911, and waited until police and the ambulance arrived."  

The Alhambra Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for information about the crash. 

Video shows a black SUV turn left onto another street before slamming into a pedestrian already in the crosswalk, not slowing down before the impact. The driver then gets out and walks over and stays near the victim before police and first responders arrive.

According to the lawsuit, Klinghoffer was driving a black 2022 GMC Yukon with no license plates in the city of Alhambra, traveling north on Meridian Avenue before turning left onto West Main Street and hitting Sanchez. The lawsuit alleges a still from the video, captured just seconds before the deadly crash, shows the driver on a cellphone or some other device. From the footage, it's unclear what the driver is doing.

In court filings, the lawsuit states that Sanchez "did not dart out" as he entered the crosswalk.

"He stopped at the corner and made sure the oncoming traffic had cleared and his path was safe. It was," the lawsuit states, adding that Sanchez then "took eight full strides within the marked crosswalk" just before being struck and killed.

He suffered blunt force trauma and died from his injuries a little less than three hours later at Huntington Hospital.

"My dad was known for being a great chef, the most talented of his family, the greatest grandpa always full of love and joy," Ashley Sanchez, his daughter and lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement from her attorneys. "His smile was so infectious. His life was taken by a careless act of a person who didn't bother to look where he was driving."

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.