An absolute tragedy befell one family where two parents of a 4-year-old both died in separate car crashes on the same day, hours apart. 

The families of an engaged couple in East Baton Rouge Parrish, Louisiana, are dealing with the aftermath of a terrible tragedy after the couple died in two separate car accidents hours apart on Friday, May 16, according to local affiliate WAFB9. 

Alexus Lee was killed Friday evening after she lost control of her SUV, hitting a structure near the side of a road and causing her car to overturn in Zachary, La. Investigators on the scene then called her fiancée, John “JR” Collins, who while rushing to the scene, also lost control of his vehicle, hit a tree and was ejected from his vehicle. According to state troopers, neither Lee nor Collins were wearing seatbelts at the time of their accidents. 

Lee and Collins were to be married in February 2026 and leave behind a 4-year-old son, along with their families and friends. 

Sandra Collins, JR’s mother, said that her grandson knows what happened but hasn’t quite processed what’s happened. “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,” she said.

Sandra also spoke about the love that JR, and everybody else, had for Alexus. “He loved Alexus as well as everybody else who knew her. To know her was to love her.”

Dominique Lee, Alexus’ sister, spoke about their son in the aftermath of the tragedy. “I know they left here knowing their child is in good hands for sure.” 

Alexus Lee recently graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., and was a teacher at East Feliciana STEAM Academy in Clinton, La. JR was a truck driver; the couple had recently purchased a home together. And they loved their son who will now be cared for by both of the families, according to JR’s mother Sandra. 

“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,” she said.