California Car Accident Kills “Bad News Bears” Sammi Kraft
A rear-end Los Angeles car accident involving three vehicles claimed the life of Sammi Kane Kraft Tuesday. She played the role of pitcher in the 2005 film of “Bad News Bears”. It was the only film she ever made.
Bad News Bears (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Kraft was a passenger of an Audi that was speeding on the westbound 10 Freeway near Crenshaw Boulevard. At about 1:30 a.m. the vehicle approached a big-rig and for an unknown reason (which is being investigated) slammed against its rear end. Almost immediately after impact another vehicle then struck the Audi according to California Highway Patrol.
When emergency medical personnel arrived to the scene, they immediately transported the film star to the hospital. Kraft was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, her brother Frankie Kraft told Los Angeles Times. She died at age 20.
Molly Kate Adams was the driver of the Audi. She suffered moderate injuries as a result of the crash. CHP arrested her on suspicion of felony drunk driving. The drivers of the other two vehicles escaped the accident with minor injuries.
The actress will be missed tremendously by her family and loved ones. She is survived by her parents, Shelly and Lulu Kane Kraft of Marina Del Rey; brothers Frankie and Bobby; and a grandfather, Syd Kane.
Services are pending.
Originally from New York, the Kraft family moved to Los Angeles so that their children could fulfill their passion to play baseball year-round. She was discovered on a baseball diamond in Los Angeles at the age of thirteen.
The publication reported that Kraft secured the part of Amanda Whurlitzer, played with gusto by Tatum O’Neal in the 1976 original film, after throwing a 75 mph fastball during a casting call in Encino per a report from Daily News of Los Angeles in 2005.
“Amanda is such a character that you can’t ‘out-Tatum’ Tatum O’Neal, so we wanted to get a real girl who could do it,” “Bad News Bears” director Richard Linklater said in the 2005 interview. “I didn’t want to keep cutting to some boy with a wig on who could throw.”
In the film Kraft played a role where she was the misfit and pitcher and only girl in a baseball team coached by the actor Billy Bob Thornton’s character. It was the only movie she made during her career. Most of time and energy were spent playing on a softball team and playing guitar with her brother, solo or various other bands.
Have you lost a loved one in a car accident on the I-10 or any other highway? Contact a group of Los Angeles-based lawyers for a free consultation today.
The Bad News Bears (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Reviewed by Chris H. in 2012.