A Texas driver who reached speeds above 100 mph before a head-on crash that killed Dixie Chicks co-founder Laura Lynch has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors said 33-year-old Domenick Chavez pleaded guilty to manslaughter in an agreement acknowledging he was driving recklessly when his pickup truck struck Lynch’s vehicle on a two-lane section of U.S. 62/180 near Cornudas on Dec. 22, 2023. According to the El Paso Times and KFOX14, Lynch, 65, an El Paso native, died at the scene, while Chavez—whose license had been suspended due to prior DWI-related penalties—was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Investigators determined alcohol was not a factor but concluded Chavez was traveling between 106 and 114 mph while attempting to pass four vehicles at once, according to the El Paso District Attorney’s Office, which also serves Hudspeth County, where the crash occurred. District Attorney James Montoya said Lynch’s death was deeply felt in her Dell City community and pledged to continue prosecuting drivers who put others at risk.
Chavez’s attorney said his client expressed “profound remorse” and chose to plead guilty rather than face the possibility of a much longer sentence at trial. Lynch, an upright bass player who later sang lead, helped found the Dixie Chicks in 1989 and left the group in the mid-1990s, years before it rebranded as The Chicks. In a 2003 interview cited by Variety, Lynch said she was comfortable with not achieving the same level of fame as her former bandmates when the group rose to prominence in the late 1990s after her departure.