Laura Lynch, founding member of Dixie Chicks, dead in head-on collision in West Texas
Laura Lynch, a Fort Worth resident and founding member of the country music band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, died in a car accident Friday in West Texas, officials said.
Lynch, 65, was killed in a head-on collision just west of Cornudas on U.S. 62, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
“We hold a special place in our hearts for the time we spent playing music, laughing and traveling together,” The Chicks posted on social media. “Laura was a bright light … her infectious energy and humor gave a spark to the early days of our band.”
Lynch’s cousin Mick Lynch told TMZ that the musician was traveling from El Paso to Dell City when the accident occurred. TMZ first reported Lynch’s death.
According to the Department of Public Safety report obtained by the El Paso Times, a Dodge Ram 1500 attempted to pass a vehicle on an undivided rural highway around seven miles east of Cornudas and struck Lynch’s Ford F-150 head on. Lynch died at the scene; the driver of the Dodge was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Lynch, along with Martie Maguire, Emily Strayer and Robin Lynn Macy, founded the Dixie Chicks in Dallas in 1989. She played the double bass guitar in the all-female country band and was the lead singer for a time. The band dropped the “Dixie” from its name in 2020 because of the term’s connection to Confederate states and is now known as The Chicks.
Lynch left the band in 1993. In a 2003 interview with the Plainview Herald, Lynch declined to give the reasons for her departure, but said she didn’t regret missing out on the fame and fortune the band enjoyed in later years.
Country singer Sonny Morgan said in a public social media post that he and Lynch had spoken a short time before the accident and exchanged Christmas greetings.
“I’ll forever love you and will always remember the good old days way back when! Vaya Con Dios my friend. May you forever rest in peace,” Morgan posted.
Fort Worth artist Nancy Lamb also commented on social media about the musician’s death.
“I just got the news there’s a new star in heaven tonight. Laura Lynch EVERYONE ADORED you honey. I’m so so so sorry. You will be so missed,” Lamb said in a public post.
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