In a story that has broken hearts across Louisiana, an engaged couple tragically died just hours apart in separate car crashes early Friday, May 16, leaving behind their 4-year-old son and a shattered family.
Almost one year ago, Alexus Lee shared an exciting Facebook post, celebrating her 25th birthday and her engagement to John “JR” Collins, 35.
“I love you through good and bad times, through thick and thin,” she wrote, addressing her fiancé in the June 7 message, where she also shared images of her sparkling new engagement ring. “I can’t wait to be your lifelong partner!!!! Mrs. Collins to be BABBY.”
Family and friends jumped into the comments section, congratulating the couple, parents to 4-year-old Garbiel.
Preparing for a life together, Lee and Collins bought their first home and were eagerly planning a wedding for February 2026.
The young couple, deeply in love and full of dreams, had no way of knowing that their story was about to end.
Lee
On May 16 about 2 a.m., Lee, a recent Southern University graduate who taught at East Feliciana STEAM Academy, was driving along the LA-67 in East Baton Rouge Parish when the SUV she was operating veered off the road, struck a culvert, and overturned.
Louisiana State Police confirmed that Lee, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene.
Officials add that “impairment is unknown” until toxicology results are available.
According to WAFB 9, investigators called Collins to tell him that his fiancée had been in an accident.
Collins
Shattered when he heard the news, Collins raced to be with the love of his life.
Police report that just before 3:45 a.m, Collins was traveling south “at a high rate of speed” when his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro failed to make a turn, struck a tree and was ejected from the vehicle, police report.
Collins “sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on the scene.”
Collins, a truck driver like Lee’s late father, also died at the scene. He, too, was not wearing a seatbelt.
‘An energy that was unmatched’
Friends and family poured out their grief out on social media, expressing that “saying goodbye this soon feels wrong.”
“Literally the sweetest soul anyone could meet. I’m sorry we didn’t have more time together, you left us too soon,” writes one friend along with images from the funeral. “I miss that smile already that could light up a whole room, an energy that was unmatched.”
Police line. Credit / Shutterstock
Police line. Credit / Shutterstock
In a story that has broken hearts across Louisiana, an engaged couple tragically died just hours apart in separate car crashes early Friday, May 16, leaving behind their 4-year-old son and a shattered family.
Almost one year ago, Alexus Lee shared an exciting Facebook post, celebrating her 25th birthday and her engagement to John “JR” Collins, 35.
“I love you through good and bad times, through thick and thin,” she wrote, addressing her fiancé in the June 7 message, where she also shared images of her sparkling new engagement ring. “I can’t wait to be your lifelong partner!!!! Mrs. Collins to be BABBY.”
Family and friends jumped into the comments section, congratulating the couple, parents to 4-year-old Garbiel.
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Preparing for a life together, Lee and Collins bought their first home and were eagerly planning a wedding for February 2026.
The young couple, deeply in love and full of dreams, had no way of knowing that their story was about to end.
Lee
On May 16 about 2 a.m., Lee, a recent Southern University graduate who taught at East Feliciana STEAM Academy, was driving along the LA-67 in East Baton Rouge Parish when the SUV she was operating veered off the road, struck a culvert, and overturned.
Louisiana State Police confirmed that Lee, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene.
Officials add that “impairment is unknown” until toxicology results are available.
According to WAFB 9, investigators called Collins to tell him that his fiancée had been in an accident.
Collins
Shattered when he heard the news, Collins raced to be with the love of his life.
Police report that just before 3:45 a.m, Collins was traveling south “at a high rate of speed” when his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro failed to make a turn, struck a tree and was ejected from the vehicle, police report.
Collins “sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on the scene.”
Collins, a truck driver like Lee’s late father, also died at the scene. He, too, was not wearing a seatbelt.
‘An energy that was unmatched’
Friends and family poured out their grief out on social media, expressing that “saying goodbye this soon feels wrong.”
“Literally the sweetest soul anyone could meet. I’m sorry we didn’t have more time together, you left us too soon,” writes one friend along with images from the funeral. “I miss that smile already that could light up a whole room, an energy that was unmatched.”
“You had the most lively smile and spirit I can’t even fathom it not existing anymore,” shares another.
Collins’ sister pens, “…you were the best and I’m surely going to miss you. They just don’t make them like you. Rest easy and keep loving on my brother up there, you know we got Gabe down here.”
One of Lee’s teachers adds, “People always speak on the impact teachers have on students, but we never really talk about how much students mean to us. I’m so sorry baby girl. Your light will be greatly missed!”
Two families blend for Gabriel
Meanwhile, speaking with the media, teary-eyed family members expressed their profound grief for the pair and their now orphaned son, who faces a future without his mom or dad.
“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,” Collins’ mother, Sandra, told WAFB. “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,” Sandra said.
“I love them and I’m gonna miss both of them and I’m gonna find the strength to go ahead,” said Collins’ dad, Arthur.
“He loved Alexus as well as everybody else who knew her. To know her was to love her,” added Sandra.
In just a matter of hours, two lives full of love, promise, and future dreams were lost – leaving a little boy without the parents who meant the world to him.
In the face of this unimaginable loss, their son Gabriel becomes the living legacy of a bond so strong it endured even in their final moments – two souls bound together, even in tragedy.
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