Engaged couple die hours apart in separate crashes - leaving behind young son
An engaged couple from Louisiana were tragically killed in separate road traffic collisions just hours apart, leaving behind a four-year-old son.
Alexus Lee, 25, and John 'JR' Collins, 35, had just recently purchased a home together and were due to get married next February.
But tragedy struck, and the couple were killed in separate crashes less than two hours apart in the early hours of Friday morning (May 16).
The first fatal collision occurred just after 2am in East Baton Rouge Parish, where Lee was driving north on LA 67 near Lemon Road.
According to a news release shared by the Louisiana State Police, Lee was driving a 2013 Toyota Highlander when the vehicle veered off the road, hit a culvert and overturned.
"Lee was unrestrained, sustained fatal injuries, and was pronounced deceased on the scene," a police spokesperson said in a statement. "Impairment is unknown; however, a routine toxicology sample was collected for analysis."
When investigators notified Lee's fiancé, Collins, he left to go to the crash site when troopers said he lost control of his car on Plank Road just outside the town of Clinton.
"The preliminary investigation revealed that Collins was traveling south on LA 67 at a high rate of speed in a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro," Louisiana State Police said. "As a result, the vehicle failed to negotiate a right-hand curve, exited the roadway to the left, and struck a tree.
"Collins was unrestrained and was ejected from the vehicle. He sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on the scene. Impairment is not suspected; however, a toxicology sample was obtained and will be submitted for analysis. Both crashes remain under investigation."
The couple leave behind a four-year-old son called Gabriel and two grieving families who can't understand how this tragedy befell them.
"I love them and I'm gonna miss both of them and I'm gonna find the strength to go ahead," Collins' father Arthur told WAFB.
"Losing Lexus just different. It was a different feeling, and it's like I know a part of me gone," said Lee's sister Dominque.
Collins' mother Sandra said that the couple's son Gabriel understands what happened to his parents as she vowed that the family would care for the youngster.
"He understands what happened, and he's just having a little problem comprehending that we can't talk to them," she told WAFB.
"We can't see them, but he understands that they are asleep and are with God."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Cops foil ‘Lee Rigby-style' plot to behead British paratrooper as families on airbase told ‘protect your kids'
COPS have reportedly uncovered a plot to behead a British paratrooper, with army families warned to be "vigilant". An image of the suspect was circulated by security at a base in Essex, and military personnel were told to protect their kids. 2 Pictured is the Colchester Garrison, in Essex Credit: Archant 2 The plot comes years after the harrowing death of Lee Rigby Credit: PA:Press Association Bases in According to the "We have received warning that a man has made threats against members of the Para Regt and wants to carry out a 'Lee Rigby' style attack. "The SCC [Security Control Centre] and main gate have been informed but ensure no Para Regt/military clothing is worn outside camp and remain vigilant." Read more It is not yet known whether anyone has been detained. Military staff at the Colchester base have been warned not to wear any army uniforms or clothing. There are around 3,500 troops and 750 civilian workers at the base, and both personnel and their families have been warned to be careful. Most read in The Sun The MOD confirmed it is aware of an "online threat". The Sun understands the plot is now being investigated by by Nottingham Police. An Army spokesperson said: "The safety and wellbeing of our personnel is our top priority. "We are aware of an online threat, which is being investigated by the civilian police. "Personnel are always advised to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to the Royal Military Police." Lee Rigby was beheaded outside a Royal Artillery barracks in London twelve years ago. His death in Woolwich, South East London, sent shock waves across the nation. The 25-year-old was a drummer in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. He was returning to Woolwich barracks after working at the Tower of London when he was spotted by his killers in Wellington Street at around 2.20pm. Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale had circled the barracks in a blue Vauxhall Tigra for an hour hunting for a victim. As Lee crossed the road, the pair spotted his Help 4 Heroes hoodie and mowed him down in the car. The Then they dragged his body into the road, where brave passer-by Ingrid Loyau-Kennett tried to shield him from further blows. Adebolajo told onlookers to call the police and urged them to film him as he launched into a rant, his hands soaked in Lee's blood. The pair waited for armed cops to arrive, then charged at the patrol car hoping to be martyred. They were both shot and injured. His family paid tribute to him on what would have been his 30th birthday on July 4 2017. Mum Lyn Rigby previously said she misses him "every hour, every day". She said: 'My heart still bursts with pride at every minute of his life. 'My flesh and blood and my adored and only son." My son Lee Rigby was murdered 10 years ago…but I still leave an empty chair out for him every night By Holly Christodoulou LEE Rigby's mum has revealed she still leaves an empty chair at the table for her son ten years after he was murdered. Fusilier Lee, 25, was stabbed to death as he walked home near his barracks in Woolwich, South East London, on May 22, 2013. Extremists Michael Adebolajo and accomplice Michael Adebowale were Ten years on, She told GMB she still has a picture of Lee next to her bed and says "good morning" to him each morning as a "focus to get up". Lyn added: "At family occasions when we all get together on a celebration, there's always an empty chair there for Lee at the dining table. "That's just what we do." The mum also revealed how she is sure her son can hear her when she speaks to him. She said strange things have happened at home and that she can feel Lee hugging her at night telling her to carry on. Lyn added: "Things happen in the house, you know, things can fly off the windowsill or the mantlepiece."
The Irish Sun
31-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Peru Two's Michaella McCollum ‘couldn't survive prison horrors' Brit ‘smugglers' Bella Culley & Charlotte Lee may face
MICHAELLA McCollum of the notorious Peru Two has warned that accused Brit drug smugglers Bella Culley and Charlotte Lee will go through unbearable prison horrors. The infamous drug smuggler turned influencer branded the pair "victims", and said she could not endure the conditions Culley and Lee may have to face. 14 Former drug mule turned author, mum and public speaker Michaella McCollum has spoken on Bella Culley and Charlotte Lee Credit: Instagram/@Michaella_McCollum 14 Charlotte Lee was arrested in Sri Lanka after cops found two suitcases stuffed with 46kg of synthetic drug kush Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 14 Bella Culley was arrested in Tbilisi airport, Georgia, with a suitcase packed with drugs Credit: Facebook As one half of the notorious Peru Two, McCollum, 31, served three years in a hardcore prison near Lima when she was convicted of drug smuggling in 2013. Alongside Melissa Reid, the two were arrested at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, The now mum-of-two said of Culley and Lee: "I could not do 20 years in a prison like that. I just couldn't. And that's what those girls are facing." read more world news Culley, 18, and Lee, 21, are facing similar but unrelated She faces 15 years to life in jail in the eastern European former Soviet state. She is being held in watchtower-ringed Penitentiary No 5 near Tbilisi while prosecutors probe how she came to have the £200,000 stash and who she planned to hand it to. Most read in The Sun Meanwhile, If Bella Culley's dad stands by daughter amid fears drug gangs are targeting Brit backpackers The Brit claimed that she didn't know she was Her friends revealed that she has been struggling behind bars since her arrest due to the shocking conditions. The part-time nail technician told pals she has not been allowed medication, and detailed how her cleaning regime consists of 'having a glass of water poured over her head'. McCollum, who has endured similar She was 19 at the time of her arrest, alongside her pal who she had recently met Reid, who was 20. The mum compared her story to those of Lee and Culley. She said: "The situation was almost exactly the same. Her mum had reported her missing, then it emerged that she'd been arrested. "There were such parallels with my case – except it was just in a different country." 14 Michaella McCollum (L) entering the Sarita Colonia jail with a police escort in October, 2013 Credit: EPA 14 Bella May Culley, 18, from Billingham, County Durham, seen in court in Tbilisi Credit: East2West 14 Charloitte May Lee, 21, former TUI flight attendant from Coulsdon, seen after she appeared in court in Colombo, Sri Lanka Credit: Enterprise 14 She added: "I couldn't help but feel bad for them. "They are 19 and 21. Whatever they have done, it's so young to be caught up in something like this, and I know what they are going to go through. "And their families. It's the worst thing anybody can have to face." Culley's situation also took a nightmare twist, after she told a Tbilisi court that she was pregnant. McCollum said: "As a mum, I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to give birth in that sort of place, and to potentially have the child taken from you and put into care. How might the cases of Bella Culley and Charlotte May be connected? Within a single day of Bella Culley's arrest, While the two arrests took place over 3,000 miles apart, people immediately noted It is believed to be likely that Georgian and Sri Lankan authorities will launch a joint investigation Both women are said to have departed from the same airport - Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport - allegedly with the drugs on them In both cases, the drugs were stashed in airtight packages that suggest a level of professionalism Both women had told their loved ones that they planned on meeting a mystery man during their travels in Thailand: Bella's grandad said she mentioned a man called "Ross or Russ", while Charlotte's friends said she made vague comments about meeting a man "That adds a whole new, terrifying, dimension. It's just incredibly sad." The smuggler turned public speaker also said the accused pair need more public sympathy, but cautioned that she also understands they may have made mistakes, as she did. "It's easy to look at girls like this and think 'how could you be so stupid?' but I look back at myself and think exactly that," she said. "I don't know the circumstances in detail here, but I do know that of all the women I came across who had been involved in drug smuggling, only about 10 per cent were doing it as a business , who knew the risks and accepted them." She continued: "The vast majority were the victims of some sort of coercion, usually by men. 14 Welikada prison, where Lee may be thrown into, is reported to be infested with maggots and rats 14 The exterior of Tbilisi Prison No.5, Georgia's only female prison where Culley may have to serve Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk 14 View of the containment areas of the Ancon 2 prison, where McCollum served her sentence Credit: AFP 14 "Prisons all over the world are full of women who have been caught up in something like this." Lee has already told cops about a mysterious Brit man called "Dan". She claims to have met him on a beach in Thailand before he bought her a ticket to Colombo, promised to join her but then suddenly vanished. McCollum said she was only regarded as a "victim" after a 2022 Netflix documentary exploring the Peru Two case. She said: "It was when I was watching an actress do some of the re-enactments of my story that I realised there had been exploitation and coercion going on here. "At the time I was so high (on cocaine) that I could barely walk. Yet the men around me were all sober. "I thought they were my friends, but actually they didn't give a s**t about me." McCollum was offered a mere £5,000 to smuggle the drugs she was caught with. "I mean who would risk spending 20 years of your life in prison for £3,000 or £4,000 or even £10,000," she reflected. "Even £50,000 isn't enough. No amount of money is worth your freedom." The 31-year-old has also written a book detailing her experience, and worked with police to tell her story to impressionable teens. More than a decade on from her harrowing story, the former drug mule is now a public speaker, wife and author who's estimated net worth nearly £1million. 14 Michaella McCollum is now a mum-of-two and author Credit: Instagram/@Michaella_McCollum 14 Part-time beautician Lee was arrested on May 12 after stepping off a flight to Sri Lanka from Thailand Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 14 Culley revealed to court that she was pregnant Credit: Social media - Refer to source
Irish Examiner
27-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Family of hit-and-run victim Shane O'Farrell get State apology in Dáil
The family of Shane O'Farrell has received a State apology in the Dáil over the circumstances of the 23-year-old's death in a hit and run. Mr O'Farrell was cycling home in August 2011 when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Zigimantas Gridziuska, near Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan. The Lithuanian surrendered himself to gardaí the following day. However, the O'Farrell family feel he should never have been at liberty to kill Shane. On a number of occasions in the two years before the incident, he had been granted conditional bail but it had not been revoked despite broken conditions. At the time of Mr O'Farrell's death, he was on bail in connection with a number of separate incidents. Speaking ahead of the apology, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Mr O'Farrell was exposed to danger which he should not have been exposed to. Hannah, Jim, Lucia, Gemma, Aimee and Pia O'Farrell at Leinster House to hear an apology in the Dail. Picture: SAM BOAL/Collins Photos Mr Martin said it was a series of failures which allowed the driver of the car that struck Mr O'Farrell to be at liberty "when in all reasonable circumstances, he should have been in custody". "The O'Farrell family deserved better. Shane O'Farrell deserved better," said Mr Martin. While nothing said in the Dáil today can change what happened, the Fianna Fáil leader said they would seek to ensure that Shane is not forgotten and seek to prevent what happened happening again. Both Mr Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris paid tribute to Mr O'Farrell and to the tireless campaign undertaken by his family to get justice. Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan delivered the apology in the Dáil this afternoon with members of the O'Farrell family present in the gallery to witness the moment.
