Singer Vandross to Be Charged in Fatal Crash

Singer Luther Vandross will be charged today with one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and another of reckless driving in a Jan. 12 accident in Studio City that killed one man and injured five others, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said Tuesday.

Deputy City Atty. Martin Vranicar said the charges will be filed in Van Nuys Municipal Court and Vandross will be arraigned within about three weeks. If convicted, the singer could be sentenced to one year in Los Angeles County Jail on the manslaughter charge and six months for the reckless driving count, Vranicar said.

Vandross, 34, was driving north at about 50 m.p.h. on Laurel Canyon Boulevard near Ventura Boulevard when his Mercedes-Benz crossed a double yellow line, turned sideways and crashed into two oncoming cars about 12:15 p.m., police said.

A passenger in the singer’s car, Lawrence Salvemini, 27, of West Hollywood, died in the crash. Vandross, whose song, “The Night I Fell in Love,” was nominated earlier this month for a Grammy award, suffered broken ribs and several cuts and bruises.

The district attorney’s office has declined to file felony charges against Vandross. But the city attorney’s office, citing traffic violations of crossing the center line and excessive speed, “reviewed the evidence, and all the factors convinced us to go through with it,” Vranicar said.