Bonnie Baha, an elite credit analyst and lieutenant of "bond king" Jeff Gundlach, died in a car accident over the weekend.

DoubleLine Capital confirmed the tragedy to CNNMoney on Monday.

Baha was 57 years old. As a senior official at DoubleLine, Baha had reached one of the top rungs in the rarefied world of female financial executives.

She helped Gundlach turn the firm into a powerhouse with more than $100 billion in assets as head of global developed credit at DoubleLine.

"For a quarter century, Bonnie was my trusted colleague and dear friend," Gundlach said in a statement. "She was honest and direct, with a sardonic wit perfectly matching her investment skepticism helping shape the DoubleLine philosophy."

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Prior to joining the Los Angeles-based DoubleLine, Baha worked closely with Gundlach for 19 years at investment firm TCW.

"DoubleLine mourns with all who knew and loved Bonnie, especially her family, yet can be grateful that a part of her legacy will be the deep and talented investment team she built and mentored," Gundlach said.