A beloved couple from Louisiana tragically died two hours apart in separate car crashes while driving on the exact same road. Alexus Lee and John “JR” Collins recently purchased a home and had been looking forward to their wedding day, which was set for early 2026, when the bizarre tragedy unfolded. They leave behind a 4-year-old son, Gabriel.
Both crashes are still under investigation by the police. In the early morning hours of May 16, Lee, 25, was heading north on Highway 67 in Baton Rouge when her SUV suddenly ran off the road, hit a culvert, and flipped upside down. The crash site near Lemon Road in Zachary was discovered by state troopers around 2 a.m., and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Lee had not been wearing a seatbelt.
When police contacted her fiancé, JR, to inform him of the terrible news, the 35-year-old hopped in his Chevy Camaro and rushed to the scene. Investigators say he was “traveling at a high rate of speed” when he lost control of his car on a right-hand curve, just outside of Clinton on the same road, about 15 minutes away from his deceased fiancée.
A press release issued by the Louisiana State Police revealed that he slammed into a tree and was forcefully ejected from the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Impairment is not suspected, though he was also not wearing a seatbelt. The results of a routine toxicology report on Lee are still pending, according to police.
The saddened Collins family recently opened up their home to WAFB9 reporters to share their grief and pay tribute to a couple whose inspirational lives were cut short. “It was a different feeling, and it’s like I know a part of me is gone,” Alexus’ younger sister Dominque Lee said through tears.
“I’m empty inside.. I love them and I’m gonna miss both of them, and I’ll find the strength to go ahead,” JR’s father, Arthur Collins, told reporters while appearing visibly distraught and holding his wife’s hand. JR’s mother, Sandra Collins, said the two families will become “blended” now as they plan to raise the couple’s orphaned preschool-aged son.
“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’re asleep,” shared Sandra, adding that “the two families will blend and we will do whatever it takes to give him a good life.”
JR worked as a truck driver and was a sports car enthusiast. Alexus recently graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge and took a teaching role at East Feliciana STEAM Academy in Clinton, which, by all accounts, she thrived in.
“It is with great sadness we inform you that Ms. Alexus Lee, 2017 graduate of East Feliciana High School and teacher at East Feliciana STEAM Academy, passed away this morning. Please join us in wrapping Ms. Lee’s family in prayer and love during this difficult time,” read a tribute from Lee’s employer.
In addition to her professional achievements, she was known as a “sweet friend” with a “lively smile and spirit,” said grieving family and friends in hundreds of Facebook posts. “Your light shines through the lives you touched and the love you shared.”
