In June 2006, singer Brandy joined the judging panel on the first series of America’s Got Talent alongside David Hasselhoff and Piers Morgan. The singer had taken a two-year hiatus from music following the release of her fourth studio album Afrodisiac in 2004, so joining a talent competition was sure to set her up for a major comeback.

But in December 2006, the “Put It Down” vocalist, who is worth $12 million, was involved in a fatal car accident on the Los Angeles 405 Freeway, killing a 38-year-old mother of two named Awatef Aboudihaj, who died from injuries the following day. To say that the incident had left Brandy traumatized would be an understatement.

Brandy, whose mother Sonja Norwood once accused the Kardashians of theft, cleared her entire work schedule and decided to quit her position on AGT to take a much-needed break from the public eye, with sources at the time stressing that Brandy would never “get over” or “understand” the events that occurred on that day.

Brandy Leaves ‘America’s Got Talent’

In April 2007, right before the second series of AGT was being prepped to begin filming, it was announced that Brandy was not going to reprise her role on the popular talent show due to the events that had taken place the year prior.

In an official statement given by her spokeswoman Courtney Barnes, she said, “Brandy has enjoyed her association with the program. However, she felt she couldn’t give the new season the attention and commitment it deserved.”

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At the time, the 42-year-old was looking at a possible misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge and two wrongful death lawsuits. If convicted, she would have faced up to one year behind bars on top of a fine.

But upon an extensive investigation into Brandy’s Land Rover vehicle, which had struck another car from behind on the LA freeway, there was not enough evidence to prove that the singer was, in fact, guilty of such blame.

“After conducting a thorough investigation, which included consulting with some of the top accident reconstruction experts in the country, city prosecutors concluded that there was insufficient evidence from which a jury could find Ms. Norwood guilty of such a charge beyond a reasonable doubt,” Frank Mateljan, Los Angeles City Attorney spokesman said.

Following the investigation, it was also ruled out that Brandy may have been distracted by the use of a cell phone while any indication that alcohol and drugs were involved had also been denied.

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The R&B vocalist’s attorney Blair Blerk said she was over the moon to hear that her client was not going to be facing any charges in the horrific car accident.

“These past twelve months have been extraordinarily hard for Brandy and her family, who were unfairly forced to live under a cloud of suspicion initially caused by an ill-advised and premature press release sent out by the California Highway Patrol accusing Brandy of wrongdoing before the police investigation was even finished.”

She added that while Brandy was extremely fortunate to have gotten out of the crash unharmed, she was “mindful” there had been a life lost in the collision.

It wouldn’t be until December 2008 — four years since the release of Afrodisiac — when Brandy would drop her fifth studio album Human, which also became her first offering after signing a new record deal with Epic Records.

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With opening week sales of just 73,000 copies, the album enjoyed moderate success with its assisted singles “Right Here (Departed)” and “Long Distance.”

In 2012, a teary-eyed Brandy sat down for a taping of VH1’s Behind The Music, which was the first time she had addressed the car accident on TV.

"I would hear what people would say, and still to this day they know that that's a button," Brandy says. "They know that they can call me a murderer or call me someone that killed someone. They know that is a button for me. A murderer is someone who premeditates it. I didn't wake up that day to be involved in a fatal car crash. I didn't plan for that. And if I could take it back, I would."

When asked why she had decided not to talk about the accident prior to engaging in her VH1 interview, she said, “It's not something that should be talked about like it's gossip. You don't like me? Fine. But don't use this situation to try to hurt me, because the guilt of being involved is enough. It's something that I'll never truly, truly get over. Ever.”

Brandy is currently filming for the up-and-coming ABC hip-hop drama Queens, which also stars rapper Eve and Power actress Naturi Naughton.

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