Singer and actress Brandy Norwood will greet 2008 as a free woman; Los Angeles prosecutors said Friday she will not be charged with vehicular manslaughter in connection with a December 2006 car crash that ended a woman’s life.

Brandy Norwood, known professionally as Brandy, was involved in an unfortunate car crash on Dec. 30 2006 in which a 38-year-old woman died. The singer’s Land Rover hit another car from behind on a Los Angeles freeway. Awatef Aboudihaj, 38, was killed when her vehicle hit a third car, careened into the freeway’s center divider and was then hit broadside by a fourth car.

The woman, mother of two, suffered multiple pelvic fractures and died the following evening in the hospital.

Police recommended at the time that Brandy, 28, face vehicular manslaughter charges. Had she been convicted, she faced up to one year in jail as well as a $1,000 fine.

The victim’s relatives sued Brandy, filing a $50 million wrongful lawsuit against her.

A one-year investigation has convinced authorities though that Brandy was not at fault and deserves no punishment for the woman’s death.

“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,” Los Angeles City Attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan said.

Investigators also looked at possible factors such as alcohol or drugs consumption and ruled these out; they also said there was no evidence that Brandy, who was alone in the car, had been using a cell phone or had been distracted otherwise.

Brandy’s lawyer, Blair Berk, said his client was grateful that the situation had been cleared. Police had initially concluded there was negligence on the former “Moesha” star’s part.

“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,” attorney Blair Berk said.

“However, Brandy continues to be mindful that she was extremely fortunate not to have been injured in this accident and that there was a life lost,” Berk added.