The children of R&B trailblazer Angie Stone are taking legal action after the 63-year-old singer was killed in a violent Alabama highway crash earlier this year.
According to The Associated Press, a lawsuit filed in Lawrenceville, Georgia, names multiple defendants, including the driver of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van Stone was riding in, the trucking company whose 18-wheeler hit the van, and the truck’s manufacturer.
Court documents say the van carrying Stone, her bandmates, and members of her team veered off an Alabama interstate before flipping onto its side. Passersby helped several passengers crawl out, but Stone remained trapped when an 18-wheeler hauling sugar barreled down the lane. Traveling close to 70 mph, the truck slammed into the van, throwing Stone from the wreck and pinning her beneath it.
The suit claims the truck’s collision-avoidance system malfunctioned and failed to register the stalled van. It also accuses the truck driver of wearing headphones, listening to music, and never hitting the brakes before impact. Stone’s children, Diamond Stone and Michael D’Angelo Archer, along with passenger Sheila Hopkins, are seeking damages.
Stone’s career stretched across decades of R&B history. She was a founding member of The Sequence, one of the first all-female rap groups signed to Sugar Hill Records, whose 1979 single “Funk You Up” became a classic later sampled by Dr. Dre.
She went on to front the group Vertical Hold before breaking through as a solo artist with a string of neo-soul hits. Her 2001 album Mahogany Soul delivered the unforgettable “Wish I Didn’t Miss You,” while tracks like “No More Rain (In This Cloud),” “Brotha,” and “Baby” with Betty Wright topped R&B charts.
Just hours before the crash, Stone shared her excitement on Instagram: “A lot of stuff is going on that I don’t want to just let out of the bag just yet,” she said. “But you can see that there’s a big grin on my face.”