Laura Lynch, Original Dixie Chicks Singer, Dies in Texas Highway Collision

A car crash on a highway near El Paso on Friday afternoon killed the 64-year-old musician on the spot. The other car's driver, who had tried to overtake her vehicle, survived with injuries that were not life-threatening and was taken to a hospital. Lynch was pronounced dead at the scene.

She was one of the founders of The Dixie Chicks in 1990, along with Robin Lynn Macy, Martie Erwin and Emily Erwin.

The singer from Texas made three albums with the band before she left in 1993.

She first played upright bass for the country group, which was very popular, and then became the lead singer on their third album, “Shouldn’t a Told You That.” Natalie Maines replaced her in 1995. Not much is known about what Lynch did after she quit the band.

A news article from 2003 said that Lynch lived in Mineral Wells, Texas.

She had a daughter named Asia and was married to Mac Wells, who won $26.8 million in a lottery in the early 1990s. Lynch reportedly used her free time to “learn to oil paint” and did not regret leaving the Dixie Chicks because she was tired. She also said good things about her time with the band, saying: “It was worth. I’d get anemic all over again to do it.”

The Dixie Chicks became very successful internationally after they released their album “Wide Open Spaces” in 1998. They made two more albums right after that, “Fly” in 1999″ and “Home” in 2002, which sold millions of copies each.

But in 2003, the band faced a lot of criticism when Maines said she did not agree with the US invading Iraq and that she was ashamed that President George W. Bush came from Texas, her home state.

The band recovered from the backlash, and changed their name to “The Chicks” in 2020. The Chicks shared a video that showed their love on their social media and wrote: "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. Laura was a bright light...her infectious energy and humor gave a spark to the early days of our band. Laura had a gift for design, a love of all things Texas and 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.

Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this sad time."