Laura Lynch, one of the founding members of the country band now known as The Chicks, has died after a head-on collision in Hudspeth County, Texas, police said. She was 65.
Lynch was driving a pick-up truck at around 5:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 22, when it was struck head-on by a vehicle trying to pass another on a two-way undivided highway, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Lynch, who authorities said was not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other driver was taken to an El Paso hospital with non-life threatening injuries after the vehicle caught fire, police said.
The Chicks, which since 1998 has consisted of Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, shared a tribute to Lynch in the wake of her death. The band posted a throwback video of the original line-up performing, when it included Lynch on bass.
"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," the caption of the tribute read.
The post credited Laura as "instrumental in the early success of the 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," the post read. "Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this sad time."
Lynch was one of the original members of the band then called the Dixie Chicks, founded by sisters Maguire and Strayer in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Maguire, a renowned fiddle player, Strayer on a variety of instruments, Robin Lynn Macy on guitar and sharing vocals with Lynch, who also played upright bass.
Lynch moved into the lead vocalist spot in the 1992 after Macy left the group.
The band's most famous iteration didn't occur until a few years later, when Maines replaced Lynch.
In 1998, the band released their hit record “Wide Open Spaces.” The group went on to make headlines and stir controversy when Maines told a crowd she was ashamed to be from the same state as President George W. Bush before America’s invasion of Iraq.
Lynch gave an interview in 2003 about her experience as a Chick, shared by the Plainview Herald of Texas. She declined to share why she left the group, but confirmed she was replaced. At the time, Lynch said she had no regrets about missing the group's rise to fame, according to the article.
“It was worth it,” Lynch added. “I’d get anemic all over again to do it.”
The band changed its name from The Dixie Chicks to simply The Chicks in 2020 shortly before the release of "Gaslighter," their first album after a 14-year hiatus.
