'Bad News Bears' star dies in crash

Sammi Kane Kraft, whose baseball skills earned her the role of a youth league pitcher in the 2005 remake of The Bad News Bears, has been killed in a car crash in Los Angeles car crash.

The Los Angeles Times said the 20-year-old was a passenger in an Audi which rear-ended a big rig truck and was struck by another car on Interstate 10 at about 1.30am local time on Tuesday.

Her brother, Frankie Kane, told the newspaper that Kraft was pronounced dead in hospital.

The California Highway Patrol said the Audi driver was treated for moderate injuries and arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

Kraft was 13 when she was discovered on an LA baseball diamond and cast in her only film. She played the role originated by Tatum O’Neal in 1976.