Singer Brandy Causes Fatal Car Crash

[Retro]

Brandy Causes Fatal Car Crash
Posted Jan 24th 2007 11:36AM by TMZ Staff

UPDATE:
STATEMENT: BRANDY'S REP TO TMZ
Brandy was involved in a car accident December 30, 2006 in Los Angeles where there was a fatality. She wishes to publicly express her condolences to the family of the deceased. Brandy asks that you respect the privacy of everyone involved at this time.
-- Courtney Barnes (Publicist for Brandy)

TMZ has learned R&B sensation Brandy was involved in a fatal accident last month, and it appears to be her fault.

It happened at 10:30 AM on December 30, 2006 on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Brandy was driving her 2007 Land Rover at 65 mph and did not notice that cars in front of her had slowed considerably. We're told Brandy's vehicle struck a 2005 Toyota. The Toyota then hit a 1989 Toyota. The 2005 Toyota then slid sideways and hit the center divider. As the 2005 Toyota came to a halt, it was struck by a 1988 Acura.

We're told the driver of the 2005 Toyota, Awatef Aboudihaj, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in critical condition and she died the next day. Aboudihaj, a 38-year-old married mother of one, was a Los Angeles resident.

Brandy was not injured. The driver of the Acura suffered moderate injuries.

Brandy was not arrested and there is no evidence drugs or alcohol were involved.

http://www.tmz.com/photos/celebrity-car-crashes/72632/Police are doing a mechanical investigation of the cars involved in the accident to determine if there was a malfunction.

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.

http://www.tmz.com/2007/01/24/brandy-causes-fatal-car-crash/

 

[Sloan]

This is a sad story...horrible accident.

 

[VainJane]

I'd hate to be Brandy right now, this kind of thing weighs on your conscience like nothing else.

It's already a given that I feel bad for the victim's family but I also feel bad for Brandy if this was truly just an accident. I mean, no matter how hard you try to drive safely there are times when for some unknown reason you just don't notice that cars have slowed or a light is turning red. Luckily, I've always slammed on the break in time (I assure, it has only happened a few times...I'm really not a bad driver). No matter how good a driver you are, it's bound to happen at least once or twice. But this does serve as a reminder that we need to stay alert on the road to prevent these horrible accidents.

Now, if Brandy was on her cell when this happened...that might turn into a whole other issue.

 

[polly]

This is a horrible story.
I was wondering though...this is the first breaking of this story and it happened almost a month ago...did she issue the statement giving condolences to the family of the deceased when it first happened or when the story broke?

 

[VainJane]

Mechanical defects ruled out in Brandy's car crash

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mechanical factors were ruled out as contributing to the fatal freeway crash last month involving actress-singer Brandy, who triggered the accident when her vehicle rammed into the car in front of hers, police said on Thursday.
But it remains to be seen whether the 27-year-old former performer, whose full name is Brandy Norwood, will be found to be primarily at fault or criminally negligent in the December 30 crash, California Highway Patrol spokesman Leland Tang said. A motorist, Awatef Aboudihaj, 38, a married mother of one, was killed when Brandy's Land Rover struck her from behind. The former star of the television comedy "Moesha" was not hurt.

Aboudihaj's car was forced into another car in front of hers, then swerved into the freeway's center divider and was broad-sided by a fourth automobile.
A big question remaining for investigators is what caused Aboudihaj's vehicle to careen across four lanes of traffic, turning what otherwise might have been a relatively minor crash into a fatal one, Tang said.
An inspection of all four vehicles found no mechanical defects, he said. "We know the person who started the chain reaction was obviously Brandy Norwood," Tang said.

Tang said investigators would spend the next day or two sifting through evidence from the scene and conducting further interviews before turning the case over to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office for review.
He said Brandy has been "fantastically cooperative" with police.
Alcohol and drugs have been ruled out as factors in the crash, and there is no evidence that Brandy was using a cell phone or was otherwise distracted at the time of the crash. She was in her car alone, Tang said. The celebrity Web site TMZ.com, which broke the news of the crash on Wednesday, quoted one eyewitness as saying the pop star was visibly distraught at the accident scene and "kept saying how she hit the lady."
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2007-01-25T225000Z_01_N25275807_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRANDY-THURS.xml&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2

 

[kissmesweet]

God, I'm so sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with the driver's family.

 

[VainJane]

Brandy faces $50 mln lawsuit over car smash


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer-actress Brandy was sued for $50 million on Tuesday by the family of a woman killed in a four-car freeway crash which police have blamed on the 27-year-old performer.
The wrongful death lawsuit by the parents of Awatef Aboudihaj, 38, was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court a day after police recommended that prosecutors charge Brandy with a misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter. The California Highway Patrol found that the entertainer, whose full name is Brandy Norwood, was at fault in the December 30 accident for failing to prevent her Land Rover from hitting the car in front of her when traffic suddenly slowed, CHP spokesman Leland Tang said this week.

Aboudihaj was killed when her vehicle slammed into a third car, careened into the freeway's center divider and was hit broad-side by a fourth automobile, police said.
The lawsuit, filed as a three-page form complaint, says her death was caused by "reckless driving" by Brandy. It seeks $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Investigators have ruled out alcohol and drugs as factors in the crash and say there was no evidence that Brandy was using a cell phone or was otherwise distracted. She was in her car alone, Tang said. Brandy's spokeswoman, Kelly Mullens of the 42West agency, said in a statement "the accident was a terrible tragedy and Brandy's heart goes out to Awatef Aboudihaj's family. But for legal reasons we cannot comment on this lawsuit."

The Highway Patrol referred the case to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office for further review with the recommendation that the former star of the TV comedy "Moesha" be cited with a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter.
A misdemeanor offense carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
It is less serious than a felony charge and means that prosecutors determine that the death did not result from gross negligence, a spokesman for the city attorney said. Brandy burst on the recording scene in 1994. Her fourth album, "Afrodisiac," was released in 2004. Last year, she served on the panel of judges for NBC's summer television show "America's Got Talent."
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2007-01-31T035815Z_01_N30386791_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRANDY-LAWSUIT.xml&src=rss

 

[VainJane]

I feel bad for the family but 50 million dollars? Thats insane, even for a lawsuit that's insane. Brandy was doing absolutely nothing wrong, she wasn't drinking or talking on her cell phone-- it appears to be an honest-to-God accident. And what's more, I'm sure she feels absolutely horrible for what happened.

Personally I hate it when people sue, no matter the reason. Suing just pisses me off but if the victim's family is going to sue, it makes more sense if they sue for the amount of money the victim would have made for her entire working lifetime had she not been killed. And unless the victim is the president of some major company, I doubt she would have made 50 million in her working lifetime.

 

[Bebe_86]

I feel bad for the family but 50 million dollars? Thats insane, even for a lawsuit that's insane. Brandy was doing absolutely nothing wrong, she wasn't drinking or talking on her cell phone-- it appears to be an honest-to-God accident. And what's more, I'm sure she feels absolutely horrible for what happened.

Personally I hate it when people sue, no matter the reason. Suing just pisses me off but if the victim's family is going to sue, it makes more sense if they sue for the amount of money the victim would have made for her entire working lifetime had she not been killed. And unless the victim is the president of some major company, I doubt she would have made 50 million in her working lifetime.

I totally agree with you on this. Its like profiting from the death of a loved one. I think its wrong to sue for that amount of money unless, like you say, she would have earned that much anyway.

Its a completely tragic story for the driver, her family and Brandy. Its upsetting when someone who wasn't necessarily doing something dangerous like driving up the wrong side of the road or drinking gets into trouble this irreversable.

 

[Zen]

^ I couldn't agree more. Accidents happen, period, end of story. I feel bad for both parties. However, 50 mil seems a bit greedy. It's sh*tting at times for celebrities in situations like this. The average Jack and Jill who makes about $15,000 - $25,000 in income, (IMO) some will take advantage of the situation, such as this. (Celebrity = lottery!) Cha-Ching! However, if Brandy was just another plain 27 year old woman driving in her car it would be a different story all together....

 

[misssakura]

They're only suing Brandy because they know she has the money...how pathetic. It makes them look as if they're not grieving. And any person should know that money can NEVER get that person back. So to charge any more than to cover expenses for funerals etc is just plain extortion.

 

[yourbestfriend]

They're only suing Brandy because they know she has the money...how pathetic. It makes them look as if they're not grieving. And any person should know that money can NEVER get that person back. So to charge any more than to cover expenses for funerals etc is just plain extortion.

What's worse is that Brandy probaly doesnt even have 50 million in assets

 

[misssakura]

Didn't she get quite a lot of money from a divorce settlement a while back? Plus she would get a lot of endorsements for America's Got Talent, and her money would have been placed into a trust fund or something similar when she was doing Moesha. So who knows what she has.

 

[pavement]

My inkling is that this money will prove to be toxic.

 

[VainJane]

Brandy Courts More Trouble

Brandy is facing more legal gridlock over her fatal freeway crash.
A second wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed against the Grammy-winning entertainer over the Dec. 30 car crash that resulted in the death of Awatef Aboudihaj, 38, and injuries to her two sons.
The most recent suit was filed on behalf of the Mrwan Mohamed, 14, and Kareem Mohamed, 10, who received injuries that their attorney, Paul N. Phillips, says will cause some permanent disability.
The suit, filed Feb. 8 in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that Brandy (listed by her legal name of Brandy Norwood in the complaint) was driving her sport utility vehicle "recklessly and carelessly" when she struck Aboudihaj's Honda on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles and that the singer-actor was directly responsible for the crash.
(According to a report from the California Highway Patrol, Brandy smashed into a car in front of her when highway traffic slowed, resulting in a chain reaction that pushed Aboudihaj's Honda into oncoming traffic.)
The lawsuit claims the children are facing a lifetime of emotional strife over losing their mother.
Court papers say that "as a direct and proximate result of Decedent's passing, Plaintiffs forever lost the comfort, society, love, affection, advice, training, society, companionship, care and pecuniary and other support of their mother."
Phillips requested that damages be determined by the court.
There was no immediate comment from Brandy's camp. But her publicist, Allan Meyer, did release a statement after Aboudihaj's Morocco-based parents filed their own $50 million wrongful-death action Jan. 30.
"The accident was a terrible tragedy, and Brandy's heart goes out to Awatef Aboudihaj's family. But for legal reasons we cannot comment on this lawsuit," said Mayer.
That suit also alleges Brandy's reckless driving resulted in Aboudihaj's death. Family attorney Lotfy Mrich told a Los Angeles TV station that the woman worked three jobs to take care of her parents in Morocco, her ill brother and sister and her three children from a previous marriage.
"I don't think any amount of money that can be given to them will compensate them for such a loss," Mrich told KCAL9. "She was a special, special lady."
It was not immediately clear whether the two cases would be pursued independently or combined.
Meanwhile, a spokesman says the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office is still probing the incident and has not yet decided whether to charge Brandy with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter as recommended by California Highway Patrol investigators.
The count carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=74ef80f7-a25f-4776-a081-20a9aad3af07

Puh-lease I understand that the children lost the financial support provided by their mother but how will millions of dollars replace love, affection, etc? It seems like the only thing these kids have learned from this accident is how to profit from someone's death.

 

[Heroin_Chic]

Can you even set a price for a life? A lawsuit like that is UNTHINKABLE in Europe.

Well, as long as Brandy didn`t drive with a jaket over her head like Stavros did...

And hey, TMZ don`t have the accient on video? They`re losing it...