This Day in Hollywood History

Sept. 3, 2001 R.I.P. Thuy Trang. Best known as the first Yellow Power Ranger, the Vietnamese-American actress passed away six years ago today after a freak car accident on a highway in San Francisco. Just 27 years old, Thuy, who also appeared in The Crow: City of Angels, was to serve as a bridesmaid at her friend Angela Rockwood-Ngyugen's wedding, and the two were traveling to San Francisco to meet the maid of honor when the car drifted, causing the driver — another bridesmaid — to lose control. "The car swung around and the back of the car hit the side of the mountain," Angela would later reveal. "It continued to flip five times... My girlfriends hit the railing — the two of them were still in the vehicle — and they flew over the bank and the second mountain stopped them. "Thuy, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, died on impact." She had internal bleeding," she said. "So the moment that they stuck the trachea down her throat, the blood started gushing out. And she was dead on arrival when the helicopter had picked her up."

Meanwhile, the driver escaped with minimal injuries while Angela is paralyzed from the waist down. She is now a supporter of The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. All four original Power Rangers attended Thuy's funeral. By Joyce Eng