Brandy can breathe a little easier now.
In a belated holiday gift, prosecutors in Los Angeles have decided not to file a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge against the R&B songstress for last year’s chain-reaction car crash that resulted in a woman’s death.
According to a statement from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, authorities opted not to proceed with a criminal case after a probe found “insufficient evidence” that Brandy, whose last name Norwood, was to blame.
“After conducting a thorough investigation, which included consulting with some of the top accident reconstruction experts in the country, city prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence from which a jury could find Ms. Norwood guilty of such a charge beyond a reasonable doubt,” prosecutors said.
The fatal collision occurred on Dec. 30, 2006, when the Grammy-winning ex-Moesha star slammed her 2007 Land Rover into the back of a 2005 Toyota Corolla at 65 mph, setting off a four car pile-up.
The driver of the Toyota, 38-year-old Awatif Aboudihaj, careened into the highway’s center divider before being broadsided by another car. After suffering multiple pelvic fractures, the wife and mother of two died the following evening in the hospital.
Weeks later, once news of the accident became public, Brandy issued a statement through her publicist in which she “express[ed] her condolences to the family of the deceased” and called it a “terrible tragedy.”
After investigating the crash scene and testing Brandy’s sport utility vehicle for any mechanical defects, the California Highway Patrol eventually recommended a misdemeanor manslaughter charge be filed against her, saying negligence was responsible for the accident.
A guilty conviction could have netted the 28-year-old entertainer anywhere from a year in jail and a $1,000 fine to house arrest or a work-furlough program.
Brandy’s attorney, Blair Berk, said the performer was grateful for the prosecutors’ decision.
“We are extremely pleased that after a more thorough and extensive investigation by the authorities, the Los Angeles City Attorney has determined that Brandy Norwood should not be charged with any crime whatsoever relating to the traffic accident,” she said.
“These past 12 months have been extraordinarily hard for Brandy and her family, who were unfairly forced to live under a cloud of suspicion initially caused by an ill-advised and premature press release sent out by the California Highway Patrol, accusing Brandy of wrongdoing before the police investigation was even finished,” Berk continued.
“However, Brandy continues to be mindful that she was extremely fortunate not to have been injured in this accident and that there was a life lost.”
But Brandy’s ordeal isn’t over by a longshot. She must now sweat out three civil suits launched by the victim’s families.
The first is a wrongful-death complaint filed in January by Aboudihaj’s parents holding the singer-actress directly responsible for “driving recklessly” and seeking $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
The second was filed on behalf of the victim’s two children, 15-year-old Mrwan Mohammed and 11-year-old Kareem Mohammed, who were with their mother in the car when the crash took place and suffered injuries their attorney said will cause them permanent damage.
Then there’s Aboudihaj’s widower, Maroune Hdidou, who claimed Brandy was driving “too fast for conditions” and “following too closely” and sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for the loss of his spouse.
In May, Brandy launched her own legal salvo against one of the motorists involved in the pile-up, accusing 50-year-old Simi Valley resident Mallory Ham of negligence and blaming her for causing the accident.
The action came in response to Ham—who’s also named as a defendant in Hdidou’s suit—suing the erstwhile America’s Got Talent judge for negligence and vehicular damage.
