Laura Lynch, a founding member of the Dixie Chicks, now known as The Chicks, was killed in a car crash in Texas on Friday, according to TMZ. The musician was 65 at the time of her death and her cousin, Mick Lynch, told the outlet she passed just outside of El Paso while driving from there to nearby Dell City, which is about an hour and a half away going east, after sunset. She was reportedly traveling on a highway and got into a collision.
The Texas Dept. of Public Safety also confirmed Laura’s death, the outlet further reported. Law enforcement said their preliminary investigation currently shows that Laura was heading east on Highway 62, and another car heading west attempted to pass another vehicle in front of it on a two-way undivided portion of the highway.
Laura Co-Founded The Dixie Chicks
The talented star co-founded the now famous country group along with Robin Lynn Macy, Martie Erwin and Emily Erwin in 1989. She served as the bassist before becoming the lead vocalist of the group. They first started out playing local shows around Texas and released their first album, Thank Heavens for Dale Evans, in 1990. Their second album, Little Ol’ Cowgirl, was later released in 1992, further putting them on the music map.
Laura Was Eventually Replaced in the Music Group
After the exit of co-founding member, Robin Lynn, in the early 1990s, Laura and the other two Dixie Chicks released their third album, Shouldn’t a Told You That, before Laura was then replaced by Natalie Maines in 1995. Although there are various rumors about why Laura left the group, it seems she felt she was headed into a different direction than the other members and wanted to focus on family and other personal matters.
She went on to live a mostly private life and later expressed no regrets about leaving despite the group’s growing success in the following years. “It was worth it. I’d get anemic all over again to do it,” she reportedly said about her time with the group.
Laura was Married with a Child
Laura married Mac Tull in 1997 and they reportedly shared a daughter, Asia, together.
Laura Liked to Paint
The late star reportedly spent her time learning how to “oil paint” before her death. Little else is known about her private life in the years after she left the Dixie Chicks.
Laura Once Spoke Out About The Dixie Chicks/President Bush Controversy
After the three remaining members of the Dixie Chicks admitted they were “ashamed” of President George Bush before the war in Iraq and during the time he was serving in the White House in 2003, controversy ensued, but Laura revealed she felt quite differently about him than her former bandmates.
“I love our president. I really do,” she told My Plainview. “I think the world of him. I really revere our President Bush, and I revere the highest office in our country to the utmost. And that’s who I am.”
This story originally appeared on Hollywoodlife
