‘Great sadness': Man killed in crash while driving to scene of fiancée's fatal crash, leaving behind 4-year-old son
EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, La. (WJW) — A couple who planned to get married next year and shared a 4-year-old son died early Friday morning in two separate vehicle crashes on the same highway, the Louisiana State Police said in a news release.
According to local TV station WAFB 9, 35-year-old John 'JR' Collins was on his way to the scene of a crash involving his 25-year-old fiancée Alexus Lee on LA 67 when he was also in a vehicle crash.
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Authorities were called to the crash involving Lee, who was driving a Toyota Highlander, around 2 a.m. in East Baton Rouge Parish.
'For reasons still under investigation, the Toyota exited the roadway to the left, struck a culvert, and overturned,' troopers said in the release. She was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene.
Trooper were also called to a stretch of LA 67 in East Feliciana Parish around 3:45 a.m. for reports of a single-vehicle crash. An initial investigation showed Collins was driving a Camaro at a 'high rate of speed,' when the vehicle missed a curve, went off the road and hit a tree.
He too was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police.
Neither of the drivers were wearing a seat belt, state police reported. Troopers said they took routine toxicology samples at both scenes.
Lee, who was a teacher at East Feliciana Public Schools, was remembered in a tribute from the district:
'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,' the post said. 'Please join us in wrapping Ms. Lee's family in prayer and love during this difficult time.'
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Sandra Collins, JR's mother, told WAFB 9 that the couple's son Gabriel is being cared for by family.
'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.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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