Angie Stone's children have filed a lawsuit over the crash which claimed her life earlier this year.

The soul star died at the age of 63 after the van she was travelling in on her way home from a show was involved in an accident in Alabama and now her kids, Diamond Stone and Michael D'Angelo Archer, have filed a lawsuit in Atlanta claiming their mother survived the initial crash when the van flipped over but she was thrown from the vehicle as she was trying to escape when an 18-wheeler carrying a load of sugar slammed into it.

The lawsuit - which names trucking company CSRT and truck manufacturer Daimler Truck North America - states passersby were helping pull people from the van after the initial accident, but when the truck hit the crashed vehicle at nearly 70 mph (110 kph), Angie became pinned underneath and subsequently died.

According to New York Post column Page Six, the legal papers allege the driver of the tractor was "not paying proper attention to the roadway ahead of him" before the crash and that the truck's collision avoidance system was faulty because it failed to detect the upturned van blocking the lane.

The documents claim Angie "consciously suffered" before she died. Sheila Hopkins - who was still inside the van when the truck hit and suffered injuries in the crash - is suing along with Angie's children.

They are also suing the driver of the van and the truck.

WSB-TV Atlanta reports they are suing for "hospital bills, attorney fees, damages and anything else a judge deems appropriate".

Diamond Stone - whose father is Angie ex-husband Rodney Stone - previously confirmed her mother's death in a heartbreaking message posted on Facebook. She wrote: "My mommy is gone."

Angie's long-time publicist told CNN: "Angie Stone's voice and spirit will live on forever in the hearts of those she touched."

In an Instagram post shared prior to the accident, told fans she was working on some exciting new projects and was looking forward to "getting back in the mix."

She wrote: "A lot of stuff is going on that I don't want to just let out of the bag just yet. But you can see that there's a big grin on my face."