Sammi Kane Kraft, known for her role as the only girl on an all-boys baseball team in the 2005 remake of "Bad News Bears" starring Billy Bob Thornton, was killed in a car accident Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The 20-year-old real life baseball player was riding in the passenger seat of an Audi when the car was rear-ended and then struck by another car, according to California Highway Patrol.
The 21-year-old driver of the car was treated for minor injuries and later arrested on suspicions of drunk driving. She was reported to have been speeding at the time of the accident.
Kraft was discovered as an actress on a baseball diamond in L.A. and went on to star alongside Billy Bob Thornton in the "Bad News Bears" remake of the original 1976 film. Kraft played the role of Amanda Whurlitzer, originally portrayed by Tatum O'Neal.
"I could never fill Tatum O'Neal's shoes, but I tried to make the role my own," Kraft told the New York Daily News in 2005. "I added a bit of the New York in me. A little toughness, a little bit of smart-ass."
For the last year of her life, Kraft was enrolled in Santa Monica Community College and had been collaborating with her brother on a musical called "Funerals" that was inspired by their grandmother's death.
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