Two Louisiana families are grieving after experiencing two heartbreaking tragedies on the same night. Engaged couple Alexus Lee and John “JR” Collins were preparing to celebrate one of the happiest days of their lives before their love story was cut short by the unthinkable.
Alexus, a teacher and recent Southern University graduate, and JR, a truck driver, were planning the next chapter of their lives together – getting married in early 2026 and moving into their newly purchased home with their 4-year-old son, Gabriel.
But the pair died on the same night in separate car crashes just two hours apart. According to Fox 8 Live, Louisiana State Police say Lee lost control of her SUV while driving on Friday morning just after 2 a.m. She died at the scene of the crash after her vehicle overturned.
When authorities broke the news of Alexus’s accident to JR, he headed to the scene just before 4 a.m. While on the way, he lost control of his car and hit a tree. He was ejected from his car and died at the scene.
Now, the family is trying to help the couple’s young son cope after losing both of his parents so tragically.
“He’s just having a little problem comprehending that we can’t talk to them, that we can’t see them. But he understands that they’re asleep,” JR’s mother Sandra Collins told WAFB. “The two families will blend and we will do whatever it takes to give him a good life,” she said.
Alexus’s sister Dominique Lee told Fox 8 Live that after losing her sister she feels like a part of her is gone. But she knows Gabriel’s parents died knowing their son is being cared for by loving family.
“I know they left here knowing their child is in good hands, for sure,” Dominque Lee said.