Sammi Kane Kraft, 20, who starred in the 2005 remake of the Bad News Bears , was killed in a car accident in Los Angeles.
Kraft, who was also a musician, was in a passenger in an Audi that was apparently rear-ended by a truck and another car on California’s Interstate 10 (Santa Monica Freeway) about 1:30 am on Tuesday. The Los Angeles Times reports that the driver of the Audi, who only suffered minor injuries in the accident, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. The Audi was reportedly speeding. Kraft was later pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Both Kraft and the driver were trapped for a short time in the wreckage, according to CBS , and were extricated by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Sammi Kane Kraft was a real-life baseball player who could throw a 70-mph fastball. She got the part as tomboy Amanda Whurlitzer in the Bad News Bears remake after “being discovered on an L.A. baseball diamond,” according AP . Tatum O’Neal had the part of Amanda Whurlitzer in the original 1976 comedy.
The remake featured Billy Bob Thorton, Greg Kinnear, and Marcia Gay Harden in addition to Kraft in the principal roles. The film, directed by Richard Linklater, received mixed reviews. The Bad News Bears was Kraft’s only movie credit.
The L.A. Times adds that “only 13 years old when the film was released, Kraft portrayed the sole girl on a misfit baseball team coached by Billy Bob Thornton’s character. He gave her acting tips and helped her with the crying scenes, she later said.”
[Image credit: PalZoo.net]
