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Manslaughter Charge Considered in Brandy Crash

Mon., Jan. 29, 2007 2:35 PM PST by Joal Ryan

Last week, Brandy faced public scrutiny for her alleged role in a deadly car crash. Now, she could face jail time.

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said Monday that the California Highway Patrol, which investigated the Dec. 30 fatal accident, has recommended a vehicular manslaughter charge be brought against the Grammy-winning former star of Moesha.

The charge under review is a misdemeanor, the city attorney's office said. It carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

But a guilty conviction also could result in anything from house arrest to a work-furlough program, according to Mary Frances Prevost, a criminal-defense attorney based in California.

"There is a reason why [the law] allows from zero time up to 365 days—it depends on the individual," Prevost said Monday.

And if the individual is Brandy, who has no known prior convictions and has not been accused of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash?

"She could conceivably do no time if convicted," Prevost said.

In 2001, actress Rebecca Gayheart faced a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter rap for accidentally striking and killing a nine-year-old boy with a car. She pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to three years' probation.

There was no word or reaction yet from Brandy's camp regarding the entertainer's possible criminal charge.

The crash in question occurred when, the CHP said, Brandy failed to slow her 2007 Land Rover on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles, and rear-ended a 2005 Toyota Corolla, setting off a chain-reaction crash.

The driver of the Toyota, Awatif Aboudihaj, 38, of Los Angeles, suffered multiple pelvic fractures, and died in the hospital on Dec. 31, the CHP said.

The crash went unreported until last week when TMZ unearthed the accident report. In response, Brandy's publicist released a statement in which the singer-actor "express[ed] her condolences to the family of the deceased," and asked for privacy for everyone involved in accident.

The accident marked the second time in as many years that an alumnus of Moesha was involved in a fatal crash. In 2005, actor Lamont Bentley, who played Moesha Mitchell's devoted friend Hakeem, died in a solo crash.

Recently seen as a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent, Brandy's career slowed after giving birth to her daughter, now four.

At her peak, in 1998, Brandy was starring as the level-headed title character in Moesha (1996-2001), screaming opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and winning a Grammy with fellow one-named star Monica for their duet, "This Boy Is Mine." She was not yet 20.

Other notable credits include the top-rated TV musical Cinderella, first aired in 1997.

Brandy, whose full name is Brandy Norwood, turns 28 on Feb. 11.