By Heather Gann
Singer Angie Stone, member of beloved hip hop trio The Sequence, died when the van she was riding in was involved in a crash early Saturday morning, according to a report from TMZ.
She was 63 years old.
The late star’s rep Deborah Champagne told TMZ Stone was leaving a performance when she was killed in the crash Saturday. She had performed at the at MAMGA Grand Marshal Ball in Mobile on Friday night, according to news and Facebook posts of her performance.
The crash involved 9 people in a Sprinter van coming from a show in Alabama heading back to Atlanta, according to another report from AllHipHop.
According to a press release from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency released early Saturday evening, the fatal crash occurred in Montgomery County about 4:25 a.m. Saturday.
Stone, of Locust Grove, Ga., was killed and eight others injured when the 2021 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van she was a passenger inside was struck by the 2021 Freightliner Cascadia driven by Jared S. Wilkinson, 33, of Skidmore, Texas, according to the press release. Stone was pronounced dead at the scene.
Prior to the Freightliner crashing into the van, the Mercedes-Benz van had overturned on the roadway in a single-vehicle crash, according to ALEA. Both crashes occurred on Interstate 65 near the 162 mile marker, approximately five miles south of Montgomery city limits.
The driver of the Mercedes-Benz, Leethel Carter, 66, of Atlanta, Ga., was injured and transported to Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery for treatment. Other passengers of the Mercedes-Benz, Anthony Majors, Jr., 44, of Atlanta, Ga.; Ashton Evans, 31, of Ellenwood, Ga.; Dontay Dailey, 32, of Stone Mountain, Ga.; James Owens, 33, of Atlanta, Ga.; Sheila Hopkins, 62, of Katy, Texas; Sherie Murphy, 44, of Ellenwood, Ga.; and Sherita Murphy, 44, of Ellenwood, Ga., were also injured and transported to Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery for treatment, according to ALEA.
No other information was available as Troopers with ALEA’s Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate.
Stone was a three-time Grammy Award winner and two-time Soul Train Lady of Soul Award recipient, according to her AllMusic biography.
She rose to fame with The Sequence, noted as the first female hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill Records label in the late–1970s, along with Cheryl “The Pearl” Cook and Gwendolyn “Blondie” Chisolm.
The trio is known for hits like “Funk You Up” which has been sampled in several other tracks like Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” and Dr. Dre’s “Keep Their Heads Ringin” since its initial release in 1979.
