Brandy

R&B singer Brandy received a late Christmas gift. LA prosecutors decided not to file a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge against the “I Wanna Be Down” crooner for last year's chain-reaction car crash that resulted in a woman's death. According to a statement from the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, authorities opted not to proceed with a criminal case after a probe found "insufficient evidence" that Brandy was to blame. "After conducting a thorough investigation, which included consulting with some of the top accident reconstruction experts in the country, city prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence from which a jury could find Ms. Norwood guilty of such a charge beyond a reasonable doubt," prosecutors said. The fatal collision occurred on Dec. 30, 2006, when the Grammy-winning star slammed her 2007 Land Rover into the back of a 2005 Toyota Corolla at 65 mph, setting off a four car pile-up. The driver of the Toyota, 38-year-old Awatif Aboudihaj, hit the highway's center divider before being broadsided by another car. After suffering multiple pelvic fractures, the wife and mother of two died the following evening in the hospital. Weeks later, once news of the accident became public, Brandy issued a statement through her publicist in which she "express[ed] her condolences to the family of the deceased" and called it a "terrible tragedy." A guilty conviction could have landed Brandy anywhere from a year in jail and a $1,000 fine to house arrest or a work-furlough program. Two civil suits have been filed in this case.