Whether she was singing What About Us, being the least-unfunny member of the Moesha cast or trying to make sense of a man called Flippy The Magnificent doing an almost-nude dance routine with a blow-up doll, Brandy always seemed sort of carefree.
That's all changed this week, though, as details of Brandy's involvement in a car crash last year that resulted in a woman's death have started to trickle out. As if coping with a fatality that it seems she may have indirectly caused by not slowing down on a Los Angeles freeway wasn't enough, Brandy may still face a manslaughter charge in the coming weeks. And now, just to heap more trouble on Brandy, the parents of the woman killed in the crash are also suing Brandy for $50 million. And you thought watching Flippy The Magnificent was unfortunate.
Different celebrities react in different ways to car crashes, and it usually depends on the severity of the crash. When Lindsay Lohan crashes cars she likes to hide in aptly-named antique stores until the trouble goes away. When the kid from The Sixth Sense crashes cars he likes to make sure he's as wasted on as much booze and pot as possible. And when Richard Hammond crashes cars he rebuilds his liquidised brain with bits of Lego. But when Brandy crashes cars, she likes to keep it quiet for a month and then manfully take on all the ramifications.
On December 30 last year, Brandy failed to reduce the speed of her Land Rover in the slow lane of the 405 Freeway in LA and hit the back of a car, causing a chain reaction that ended with the death of Awatef Aboudihaj. For almost a month Brandy's accident went unreported until it was uncovered last week, and since then the California Highway Patrol has toyed with the idea of hitting Brandy with a manslaughter charge. As Brandy was not found to have either alcohol or drugs in her system at the time of the crash and did not appear to be using a mobile phone, the manslaughter charge is a misdemeanour and carries a maximum sentence of $1,000 fine and a year in prison.
However, it's been revealed that Brandy is now also being sued for $50 million by the parents of Awatef Aboudihaj, as Reuters reports:
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 misdemeanour count of vehicular manslaughter… 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.
If Brandy's woes seem slightly familiar, then you're probably right – after OJ Simpson was found to be not guilty of murder, the parents of one of the victims sued him for $33.5 million and won. You know what we're saying here – we're saying that if Brandy is found to be responsible for the death of Awatef Aboudihaj in this new civil case, it's only a matter of time before Brandy, looking for a way to make some money to rebuild her reputation with, writes an ill-judged book called If I Slowed Down And Avoided Starting A Fatal Multivehicular Road Accident, Here's How It Happened.
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88 says
$50 million seems hefty. Does America’s Got Talent pay that much?
CA Highway Petrol says
A “maximum” sentence of $1000 and a 1 year means nothing. It’s getting reduced to $50 and 30 days suspended jail time. She’s not going anywhere, just like her career in Idol-like singing/dancing/talent shows.
The $50m pricetag on the death of Awatef seems ridiculously high. I’m a college educated man and I doubt I’ll ever accumulate $50m in my lifetime. Was Awatef even a citizen? Was she on her cellphone? For $50m, I wish Brandy had hit me. Maybe I could be driving a 2007 Land Rover soon.
Anyways, cheers to sueing Americans, making our country look like jackasses again.
shanice says
I love you brandy keep your head up girl