Hours apart on Friday, the mother of a 4-year-old boy crashed into a culvert and her fiancé struck a tree while rushing to the scene of the crash, killing both parents, according to police.
According to Louisiana State Police, Alexus Lee and John “JR” Collins, who were engaged and had the toddler together, were both declared dead at the scene of their separate predawn collisions in the Baton Rouge area.
Arthur Collins, Collins’ father, said, “I love them and I’m gonna miss both of them and I’m gonna find the strength to go ahead.”
According to authorities, Lee, 25, was operating a 2013 Toyota Highlander on LA 67 at around two in the morning when the SUV swerved off the road and crashed into a culvert, flipping the vehicle over.
Collins, 35, reportedly got into his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro and raced to the scene after being called about the fatal crash, but authorities said he lost control of his vehicle while trying to turn a corner.
On LA 67, his car also veered off the road and collided with a tree, flinging him from the car.
Police claim that neither Lee nor Collins were wearing seatbelts.
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“He loved Alexus as well as everybody else who knew her,” Collins’ mother, Sandra Collins stated. “To know her was to love her.”
Gabriel, the couple’s toddler, was to be left behind when they were married in February 2026.
Sandra Collins tragically told the station, “He understands what happened, and he’s just having a little problem comprehending that we can’t talk to them,” while promising that the two families would look after him.
“We can’t see them, but he understands that they are asleep and are with God.”
