Man sentenced to 15 years in Texas crash that killed Laura Lynch
laura lynch, a founding member of the country group now known as The Chicks, died after a head-on collision on Dec. 22, 2023. The driver, Domenick Chavez, 33, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, a development that closes a criminal case stemming from a rural West Texas wreck.
Sentence in Hudspeth County crash that killed Laura Lynch
Domenick Chavez, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a plea agreement in a Texas court and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the 34th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said. A news release from El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya, who also oversees Hudspeth County, tied the plea to the Dec. 22, 2023 crash in Hudspeth County that cost Lynch her life.
Prosecutors’ account of how the collision unfolded
The news release said Chavez was driving a truck westbound when he attempted to pass four vehicles on a two-way undivided highway and collided head-on with Laura Lynch’s eastbound truck. Prosecutors said Chavez was traveling between 106 and 114 mph as he tried to pass. Chavez escaped his truck with non-life-threatening injuries after his vehicle erupted in flames; Lynch, 65, of Dell City, was trapped in her vehicle and died at the scene. Prosecutors said alcohol was not a factor, but Chavez was driving on a suspended license that had been revoked because he failed to comply with DWI-related surcharges and penalties from convictions in 2014 and 2017.
Legal and official response from El Paso-area prosecutors
El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya said the death of Ms. Lynch caused profound sadness for her family, the Dell City community, and all those who appreciated her music, noting the loss was made more acute because it occurred just days before Christmas. Montoya added that the office will continue to hold accountable defendants who choose to drive in an extremely dangerous manner. The 34th Judicial District Attorney’s Office handled the plea agreement that resolved the manslaughter charge.
Laura Lynch’s early role in the Dixie Chicks and recorded work
Laura Lynch was a bass player who co-founded the Dixie Chicks with Robin Lynn Macy and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer (née Erwin). The band formed in 1989 and in the late 1980s, Lynch and Macy shared lead vocal duties until Macy’s departure in 1993; Lynch then became the trio’s sole frontwoman as the group rose as a regional favorite in Texas. The Dixie Chicks recorded three independent albums with Lynch on lead vocals: Thank Heavens for Dale Evans, Little Ol’ Cowgirl and Shouldn’t a Told You That. The pre-Natalie Maines direction of the group emphasized bluegrass, retro-country and a cowgirl image. Lynch was later replaced by Natalie Maines in 2005, and the trio went on to wider commercial success with the breakthrough album Wide Open Spaces in 1998 and eventually won 13 Grammys; the band changed its name to The Chicks in 2020.
Band statements and notes on Lynch’s personal life
Members Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire issued a joint statement after Lynch’s death saying they were shocked and saddened, that Lynch had been a bright light whose infectious energy and humor helped spark the early days of the band, and that she had been instrumental in the group’s early success. The context of Lynch’s exit from the band has been noted in past interviews; Lynch told a society columnist in 1995 that the exit was not her idea. The same year she was let go from the band, she reconnected with her high school sweetheart and future husband, rancher Mac Tull, who had reportedly recently won $26. 8 million in a lottery; Lynch and Tull later wed in 1997.
