TAOS, NM. (THECOUNT) — The high school student also killed in the fatal Taos, New Mexico, car crash that resulted in the death of country singer Kylie Rae Harris, has been identified as Maria Elena Cruz.
Cruz, 16, died in the three-vehicle crash on Wednesday night in Taos, New Mexico. Local paper Taos News stated that both Cruz and Harris were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, however indicated the singer may have been at fault in the crash.
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“At this time I will say with most certainty that Miss Cruz was an innocent victim of this senseless crash caused by Ms. Harris,” Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said in a statement to people.
The singer tragically died in a car accident on Sept. 4, 2019, according to reports.
Harris, 30, was killed in a crash one day before she was scheduled to perform at the Big Barn Dance Music Festival in Taos, New Mexico.
While on a road trip in northern New Mexico, the young artist was involved in a three-vehicle crash on State Road 522 near the city of Taos; a 16-year-old driver also died as a result of the crash.
The Texas singer-songwriter knew she wanted to be a singer after singing in her church’s choir. She wrote her first song when she was only 14 years old and knew that music would always play an important role in her life, reports WesternJournal.
One of the songs on her latest EP, released in March 2019, featured the song “Twenty Years From Now,” which she wrote as a prayer for her 6-year-old daughter Corbie. She told Billboard that it was the most important song she’d ever written.
Geo quick facts: Taos is a town in northern New Mexico’s high desert, bounded by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It’s known for historic adobe buildings such as Taos Pueblo, a multistory adobe complex inhabited by Native Americans for centuries. A longtime artist colony, Taos also offers many galleries and museums showcasing regional artwork, including the Harwood Museum of Art and the Taos Art Museum – wikipedia.