Brandy Settles Wrongful Death Suit

R&B star pays $600,000 to children whose mother was killed after getting hit by songbird's car in 2006 accident

By Josh Grossberg Jun 02, 2009 6:48 PMTags
Brandy NorwoodBrad Barket/Getty Images

Brandy is breaking out her checkbook to put the worst day of her life behind her.

The R&B songbird has reached a settlement in the wrongful-death lawsuit brought on behalf of the children of the woman killed in a December 2006 multicar collision involving the former Moesha star.

According to settlement documents obtained by E! News, the kids—Mrwan and Kareem Mohamed—will each receive $300,000.

The boys, who were then 15 and 11, were in the family's Toyota Corolla when it was struck by Brandy's Land Rover, killing their mother, Awatef Aboudihaj.

There was no immediate comment on the settlement from Brandy's lawyer or publicist.

Three other suits were filed against Brandy (last name: Norwood) in the wake of the accident: one by the victim's husband and the boys' father, Marouane Hdidou, who has turned down a $1.2 million settlement offer; another $50 million claim by Aboudihaj's parents (which faces an uphill battle in court since only the husband, not parents, of a victim are allowed to sue under California law); and a third by another man, Donald Lite, who sustained "serious and permanent injuries" in the smashup.

Brandy, 30, launched her own legal salvo against another motorist involved in the crash, accusing Mallory Ham of negligence and blaming her for causing the chain-reaction pileup.

The California Highway Patrol recommended a misdemeanor manslaughter charge be brought against the singer-actress, but prosecutors opted not to press charges due to lack of evidence.