Newly engaged couple among three killed in wrong-way crash

GIBSONTON, Fla. — A Florida couple that became engaged last month was killed when a wrong-way driver slammed into their car Thursday night on Interstate 75, The Tampa Bay Times reported.

LaShay Waiters, 24, and Yvette Alexandre, 21, were killed, along with the wrong-way driver, Justin Lakin, 21, near Gibsonton, located southeast of Tampa. The Florida Highway Patrol on Friday was still investigating what led up to the crash, the Times reported.

On Oct. 25, Waiters proposed to Alexandre, whom he had met when both were students at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Two weeks ago, Alexandre announced she was pregnant.

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“They had a great future together,” Waiters’ mother, Tamika Snipes, told the Times.

Waiters studied sports medicine and wanted to become a team doctor for a National Football League team. Alexandre studied psychology at Central Florida, the Times reported. The couple met three years ago at the Orlando university.

After dropping off a friend in Tampa on Thursday, the couple planned to spend the night at Snipes’ house. As they drove south on I-75, they were allegedly hit by Lakin, who was driving north in the southbound lane. The force of the crash crumpled both cars, the Times reported. All three were wearing seat belts and were taken to a hospital, where they died.

Lakin’s father, Brian, told the Times via telephone that he was “in shock” but declined to comment further.

For the families of Waiters and Alexandre, their grief is compounded by what might have been.

"I believe (Waiters) would make a very good son-in-law," Robert Alexandre told the Times, “but now I’ll never know.”

Cox Media Group