A Louisiana family is grieving but seeking to rally behind a four-year-old boy whose mother was recently killed in a car crash – and whose father then died in a separate vehicle wreck while trying to get to her.

Gabriel, the son of Alexus Lee and John “JR” Collins, “understands what happened”, his paternal grandmother, Sandra Collins, told the Louisiana news station WAFB. “And he’s just having a little problem comprehending that we can’t talk to [his parents]. We can’t see them, but he understands that they are asleep and are with God.”

Gabriel’s struggle to comprehend has been shared widely beyond his state after news circulated that his mother lost control of her sports utility vehicle on 16 May, flipped and was killed after crashing into a culvert alongside a road in Zachary, which is just north of Louisiana’s capital, Baton Rouge. Investigators called Collins to inform him of Lee’s crash – and, while driving to the scene of the wreck, he hit a tree, was ejected and was killed in the town of Clinton, about 20 miles (32km) from Zachary, as WAFB reported. Neither was wearing a seatbelt.

News of the engaged couple’s deaths – hours apart and just months away from the wedding they planned to have in February 2026 – shocked those who knew them.

Lee had recently graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge and taught at a science, technology, engineering and mathematics school, and Collins worked as a truck driver. They had bought a new home.

The couple’s survivors then received an “overwhelming outpouring of love, prayers and messages from friends, loved ones and even strangers, many [who] have asked how they can help”, said a message posted on the website of a GoFundMe campaign established by Lee’s sister, Dominque. The message – signed by Dominque Lee – said the aim of the campaign was to support the future of Gabriel, her orphaned nephew, and ensure “that the legacy of his parents lives on through the opportunities we now can provide for him”.

“I’m heartbroken … that we recently lost … two incredible souls who were building a life together, full of love, dreams and devotion to their little boy,” said the message, which mentioned either establishing a trust fund for Gabriel or saving for his college education. “While this loss is unimaginable, our commitment to Gabriel is unwavering.”

On Facebook, Dominque Lee said she was preparing to have her third child before the deaths of Gabriel’s parents – but now she was going to be a mother of four, she wrote.

“Rest [assured] knowing that y’all’s son is in good hands,” Lee said in a post that paid tribute to her sister and the man who was going to be her brother-in-law. “I always told you how I admire the mother you [are] – I’ll fill those shoes with honor and compassion.”