May 21, 2025
The couple died in separate car crashes within hours of each other.
An engaged couple in Louisiana died in two separate car crashes on the same day, stunning their families and leaving behind a 4-year-old son.
Alexus Lee and John “JR” Collins planned to marry next year.
“I love them and I’m gonna miss both of them and I’m gonna find the strength to go ahead,” JR’s father, Arthur Collins, told WAFB.
According to the news outlet, Lee lost control of her SUV, crashing into a culvert and overturning her car on the evening of May 16.
After investigators informed Collins, he drove to the crash site. En route, he lost control of his car, hit a tree, and was ejected from the vehicle. State troopers confirmed that neither Lee nor Collins wore a seatbelt during their respective accidents.
“Losing Lexus just different. It was a different feeling, and it’s like I know a part of me gone,” said Alexus’s sister, Dominque Lee.
Collins’ mother, Sandra, also emphasized how great Lee was and detailed how much they loved each other as they built their family. “He loved Alexus as well as everybody else who knew her. To know her was to love her.”
The loving couple were also doting parents to their son, Gabriel.
“He understands what happened, and he’s just having a little problem comprehending that we can’t talk to them. We can’t see them, but he understands that they are asleep and are with God,” Sandra Collins said.
She added, “Even though they left a child behind, we have a great support system. The two families will blend, and we will do whatever it takes to give him a good life.”
Lee and Collins’ families will hold a joint celebration of life for the couple May 21 in Clinton, Louisiana.
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