EL PASO, Texas (KTSM/NEXSTAR) — A 65-year-old woman from Fort Worth who is being identified as a founding member of The Dixie Chicks was killed and another person was hurt in a head-on collision Friday night, Dec. 22 along U.S. Highway 62 in Hudspeth County, Texas.
The woman was identified as Laura Caroline Lynch by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The remaining members of the band, now called simply The Chicks, also confirmed Lynch’s death.
Lynch was a member of the band from 1990 until 1993. The group consisting of Lynch released three albums before Lynch’s departure. The band would become global superstars with the release of 1998’s “Wide Open Spaces,” which only featured the three remaining members of the group: Emily Strayer, Martie Maguire and Natalie Maines.
The crash happened at about 5:45 p.m. about 25 miles west of Dell City and about 8 miles west of Cornudas, according to DPS.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a pickup truck was traveling westbound on U.S. 62 when the driver tried to pass another vehicle along a two-way undivided portion of the highway. That truck collided head-on with a pickup truck driven by Laura Caroline Lynch, 65, of Fort Worth.
Lynch was pronounced dead at the scene. The other driver’s vehicle caught fire and that person was taken to an El Paso hospital with what were called non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the first vehicle was not identified by DPS.
The crash closed down the highway until about 1 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 23.
In an Instagram post to the Chicks’ official account Saturday evening, the group said in part:
We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Laura Lynch, a founding member of The Chicks. We hold a special place in our hearts for the time we spent playing music, laughing and traveling together… [she] was instrumental in the early success of the band. Her undeniable talents helped propel us beyond busking on street corners to stages all across Texas and the mid-West.”
The Chicks
The crash remains under investigation and no other details are immediately available.
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