California Highway Patrol Recommending Brandy Be Charged in Fatal Crash

The California Highway Patrol recommended Monday that actress-singer Brandy be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a freeway crash that killed a woman last month, a city attorney's spokesman said.

The CHP referred the matter to the city attorney's office for review, said spokesman Nick Velasquez.

"The office is currently reviewing the case and determining whether the evidence warrants the filing of a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter," Velasquez said.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine, Velasquez said.

Prosecutors couldn't say when they would make a decision about whether to bring a case. If charged, Brandy wouldn't necessarily have to appear in court and could have her lawyer enter a plea, Velasquez said.

Brandy, whose real name is Brandy Norwood, has publicly expressed condolences to the victim's family, Brandy's publicist, Courtney Barnes, said last week.

Barnes also has said Brandy wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

Brandy, 27, was driving a Land Rover on Interstate 405 on Dec. 30 when traffic slowed and her vehicle struck the back of Honda driven by Awatef Aboudihaj, 38, a married mother of one, according to a CHP report.

Aboudihaj's car hit another vehicle, slid sideways into the center divider and was then hit by another car, the report said. Aboudihaj, a Los Angeles waitress, died at a hospital from blunt-force injuries, according to the coroner's office.

Bill Sayed, an attorney for Aboudihaj's husband, said he supported the CHP's recommendation.

Los Angeles 911 operators were flooded with calls in the minutes following Brandy's accident, as the R&B singer allegedly confessed she was at fault, according to TMZ.com.

An unidentified witness told TMZ.com that the singer repeatedly said she was at fault.

"She got upset, talking about how it was all her fault ... she didn't stop, kept saying how she hit the lady," the man said.

"Brandy walked in front of traffic, crossing the lanes of speeding cars, then she did it again," he told TMZ.com. "People were honking at her to get out of the road. She was obviously disoriented and highly upset."

Brandy, who earned a Grammy in 1999, has made five albums. She began her recording career at 14 and acted for film and television, starring on the sitcom "Moesha" from 1996-2001 and most recently as a judge for NBC's "America's Got Talent."

Brandy's "Moesha" co-star, Lamont Bentley, was killed in January 2005 when his car plunged off the same freeway.

Another "Moesha" co-star, Merlin Santana, was killed by a gunshot wound while sitting in the passenger seat of a car in 2002.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.