Two Bradenton men among three killed in wrong-way crash on I-75

Three people are dead after a wrong-way driver crashed on Interstate 75 in Hillsborough County on Thanksgiving, closing a portion of the highway overnight, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Justin B. Lakin, 21, of Bradenton, Yvette R. Alexandre, 21, of Ruskin, and Lashay D. Waiters, 24, of Bradenton, were killed in the crash.

All three were taken to Tampa General Hospital where they died, according to FHP.

Lakin, driving a 2012 Toyota Corolla, was driving north in the southbound center lane of I-75 just north of Gibsonton Drive shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday, according to FHP.

A 2009 Ford Focus driven by Waiters, with Alexandre a passenger, was traveling south in the center lane of the same stretch of road when they were struck head-on by the Corolla, traveling the wrong way, FHP reported.

WFLA News Channel 8 reported that after Thanksgiving dinner, the two were headed home from dropping a friend off at their house when they were killed.

Waiters and Alexandre had recently gotten engaged, family members told several news outlets. An Instagram account using the same nickname as the one attached to his Facebook account shared a video of the proposal with the hashtag, #JANUARY2019. The post was dated Oct. 29.

The couple met while enrolled at the University of Central Florida, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Waiters was studying sports medicine to become a team doctor in the National Football League. Alexandre studied psychology and aimed to be a forensic psychologist.

Suzette Alexandre posted to her Facebook on Friday, “We will miss their (b)eautiful faces and smile. My Baby girl Yvette Alexandre and her fiance Lashay we will always love you guys.”

In one of his last conversations with his daughter, Robert Alexandre told the Tampa Bay Times that he wanted her to know that she meant the world to him and that he would always support her.

“I wanted her to know that she had my enduring love and support as a father,” he said.

According to Bay News 9, Alexandre’s parents learned about two weeks ago that she was expecting the couple’s first child.

Waiters’ Facebook profile showed he went to Braden River High School. His cousin, Titus Humphrey, said it had been a while since he spoke to Waiters, but said his death wasn’t something he expected to hear about.

Though it rattled Humphrey, he remembered playing football in 2008 with his cousin and even then how great of a teammate Waiters was.

“He is a hardworking person, point blank, period. And me being young at time and being on the team, he was one of the leaders on the team and I can say without him that year we would have been nothing,” Humphrey said. “I think that’s where I got wanting to be a leader from, from him.”

All three people were wearing seatbelts and alcohol was not suspected in the crash, according to FHP reports.

It’s unknown where Lakin began driving in the wrong direction. A portion of I-75 was closed for several hours. An investigation is ongoing.

This story was originally published November 24, 2017 at 8:20 AM with the headline "Two Bradenton men among three killed in wrong-way crash on I-75."