How she spent her last days before a fatal car accident

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, along with her TLC groupmates Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, left a lasting legacy before her untimely death in 2002.

The rapper died on April 25, 2002, during a month-long spiritual retreat in Honduras. She was driving a rental car when she suddenly swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, causing the car to flip several times after hitting two trees.

Lopes and the seven other passengers flew from the car, but Lopes was the only one to suffer a fatal injury, dying instantly from a fractured skull The New York Times.

In the years since her death, her bandmates and fans have mourned her and upheld her legacy. Several documentaries have also been made about her life and final days, including one in 2007 Last days of the left eye.

“I talked to her once in my life and she said how much she and Tupac had in common and how similar they were,” director Lauren Lazin told NPR in 2007. “And she said to me, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if I die young too.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Lisa Lopes’ death.

Who was Lisa Lopes?

Lopes gained fame as one of the members of TLC, a girl group formed in 1990 and named after the first letter of each woman’s name. They performed together in the 1990s until Lopes felt her creativity was stifled after the 1999s FanMailwhich caused the group to temporarily disband.

In her personal life, Lopes was also known to date Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Andre Rison. The two had a turbulent relationship, culminating in an infamous incident in 1994 in which Lopes set fire to Rison’s sneakers in his home, resulting in the entire mansion burning down.

Towards the end of her career, the rapper had a bad relationship with her bandmates and felt that her voice was no longer properly represented in their music. Ultimately, however, the three women saw each other as sisters, Watkins said in a 2001 interview with the Associated Press.

“With three women, you agree to disagree,” she said. “I won’t always agree with Lisa, and she won’t always agree with me. That’s okay.”

Where did Lisa Lopes die?

Lopes died in Honduras, where she often visited for days or months and lived in her apartment near a “healing village,” her publicist Jay Marose told the press at the time. In early 2002, she returned to the country for a spiritual retreat, hoping to share her love of the culture and healing rituals with her family and friends, bringing along her brother, sister and producers.

At the same time, Lopes was making a documentary about Honduras and the Garifuna, an English-speaking people with African roots.

“It was something very personal to her and it was something she liked to share with people,” Marose said The New York Times after her death. “Lisa loved to travel and loved discovering new places.” “She loved cultures that were really, really spiritual.”

What caused Lisa Lopes’ car accident?

“Left Eye” was driving a rented Mitsubishi Montero outside a village called Roma when she lost control of the vehicle and plunged it into a ravine.

“The cause of the accident was that Ms. Lopes lost control of the car,” said Luis Aguilar, a spokesman for the San Pedro Sula Police Department The New York Times. “The car overturned for reasons that we do not yet know and are currently under investigation.”

Lopes’ brother and sister, as well as members of a small band from Atlanta, Egypt, were in the car, but all survived. The producers of Lope’s documentary were also in the vehicle and had the cameras rolling when the accident occurred, leaving behind footage that was later used Last days of the left eye.

“I didn’t see any evidence of a crime,” director Lazin told NPR, asking if she had any theories about Lopes’ accident. “There are some questions about the car itself, whether it was, you know, faulty brakes or whether there was something wrong with the car itself.”

What did Lisa Lopes say about death?

The “No Scrubs” singer had clearly expressed that she was not afraid of death and had often said that she believed in the renewal of energy.

“She said, ‘But, you know, I don’t really see death as a bad thing,'” Lazin told NPR of a conversation she had with Lopes months before her death. “‘I see it as a transformation of energy, I see it in a different way than a lot of people see it.’ ”

After her death, Lopes’ family established a foundation in her honor, the Lisa Lopes Foundation, to donate money to underprivileged children and provide them with resources to improve their lives. The slogan used was Lopes’ own spiritual motto, “Energy never dies…it just transforms.”

What legacy did Lisa Lopes leave behind?

After her untimely death, just a month before her 31st birthday, Lopes leaves behind a lasting legacy. Watkins and Thomas never chose to replace her in their group and continued to make music as a pure duo, honoring her in the process.

They released their first album without Lopes, TLCin 2017, after abandoning the fourth studio album they were working on together at the time of Lopes’ death.

“We know she wants us to continue with TLC and make sure her legacy lives on through us,” Thomas told PEOPLE in 2017.