BRANDY MAY BE CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER

Police recommended on Monday that singer-actress Brandy be charged with a single misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter for a fatal four-car crash triggered when her vehicle struck another car from behind. The California Highway Patrol found that the 27-year-old performer, 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 freeway traffic suddenly slowed, CHP spokesman Leland Tang said. The driver whose car Brandy rear-ended, Awatef Aboudihaj, 38, a married mother of one, 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. Tang said 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, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, 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. Prosecutors could decide to charge Brandy as recommended, suggest that the District Attorney's Office file a more serious charge or dismiss the matter altogether. Investigators have ruled out alcohol and drugs as factors in the crash and there was 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. Brandy told police at the scene she was driving about 65 mph (104 kph) just before the crash, which Tang said was at or below the posted speed limit. Bandy's publicist, who issued a statement last week on the singer's behalf expressing condolences to the victim's family, was not immediately available to comment on Monday's referral of the case to prosecutors. Brandy burst on the recording scene with her self-tilted debut album in 1994, launching such hits as "I Wanna Be Down," "Baby" and "Brokenhearted." 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."