TLC's Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes dies in Honduras car wreck | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper
Lisa Left Eye Lopes of TLC died in a car accident Thursday while on vacation in Honduras. She was 30.
Associated Press library photo  2000
LA CEIBA, Honduras  Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, of the Grammy-winning trio TLC, had spent the past month in Honduras working on a multitude of projects  a clothing line, a new solo project and a book about her colorful, sometimes troubled life.
But she died before she was able to write the final chapter. The singer, who would have turned 31 next month, was killed as she was driving on a Honduran road, said her publicist, Jay Marose.
Eight other people, including a sister of Lopes, were in the Mitsubishi Montero sports utility vehicle when the crash occurred Thursday night near Jutiapa, about 10 miles west of La Ceiba, on Honduras' northern Atlantic coast.
La Ceiba Police Inspector John Cole said Lopes was traveling from the jungle to a natural-medicine compound where she was staying in Jutiapa when the accident occurred.
Lopes was trying to pass a car on the highway when a truck approached from the other lane, forcing her to veer sharply to the left, striking two trees and then flipping over several times, Cole said.
The police inspector said the seriousness of the accident indicated that Lopes was driving at an excessive speed, but he could not say exactly how fast she was driving.
Lopes was killed instantly. Several other people in the car were taken to a hospital in La Ceiba for non-life-threatening head, arm and leg injuries, Cole said.
Lopes had visited the Villa Usha natural medicine compound in Jutiapa, which features thermal baths and other treatments, since 1998, Cole said.
TLC members Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, said they were devastated by the death. The group had been working on the follow-up to their Grammy-winning, triple-platinum album, "Fanmail," released in 1999.
TLC's hits included the No. 1 smashes "Waterfalls," "No Scrubs" and "Creep." Their songs often delivered a message of female empowerment, with sassy, sexy lyrics. But they also addressed more serious topics, such as the dangers of AIDS in "Waterfalls," and unrealistic beauty expectations in "Unpretty."
The group made its debut in 1992 with the disc, "Ooooooh ... On the TLC Tip!" Their unique sound, which paired Watkins and Thomas' vocals with Philadelphia-born Lopes' fast-paced, squeaky-voiced rhymes, along with their baggy wardrobe with condoms attached, made them an immediate sensation.
In 1994, the band returned with "CrazySexyCool"  Lopes was dubbed the "crazy" member of the group, Thomas the "sexy" one and Watkins the "cool" one. The quadruple platinum album saw the women abandon their sometimes gimmicky image to evolve into a critically acclaimed group. The album won them the first two of their four Grammy Awards, among the many trophies they would collect over the course of their careers.
In 1994, Lopes pleaded guilty to arson in a fire that destroyed the million-dollar mansion of her boyfriend, former Atlanta Falcons receiver Andre Rison. Lopes was sentenced to a halfway house and five years' probation, plus a dlrs 10,000 fine.
The group also had its own infighting. After the release of the triple-platinum disc "Fanmail," Lopes hinted she might leave the group, and later challenged Watkins and Thomas to put out solo albums and let fans determine who was the most popular group member. But her own solo album, "Supernova," was shelved last year when radio stations showed little interest.
Lopes became a single mother two years ago when she adopted a little girl named Snow, said a spokesman for TLC, Rob Goldstone. The girl, 9, was not with Lopes at the time of her death.
TLC had been on hiatus but recently returned to the studio to work on a new album due to have been released this year.
"Their relationship, I think like any long term relationship, had hit a rough patch which was pretty public," he said. "(But) I think this next record was going to the best thing they ever did. ... They had all settled back in and were really working together with this next record, and the music was really spectacular."
Lopes' manager flew to Honduras to bring her body home, her record label, Arista Records, said.
She is survived by her mother, her daughter, and a younger brother and sister.