Hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a driver who was thought to be drunk just hours before their sister’s wedding.
On Thursday night, a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit Johnny, a winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets who is 31 years old, and Matt, who is 29 years old. They were biking in New Jersey.
Sean Higgins, who is 43 years old, has been arrested for killing the brothers.
Police told The U.S. Sun that the Gaudreau brothers were riding their bikes “close to the fog line of the roadway” while Higgins drove north on the same road.
At one point, the SUV in front of Higgins moved to the middle of the road so that the cyclists could pass safely.
“Higgins then attempted to pass the SUV on the right and struck the two pedal cyclists in the rear,” police said.
Both Johnny and Matt died from their injuries.
Police said they thought Higgins was drunk, and he was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide.
He is said to have said that he had five or six beers before the fatal crash.
Higgins was turned in at the Salem County Correctional Facility and went to court for the first time on Friday.
He sighed as the judge told him he would be in jail until his next hearing on September 5. The hearing was caught on video.
“So…I’ll be here until Thursday?” Hicks asked.
After that, the judge said that the normal 72-hour hold time was extended because it was the weekend of a holiday.
Breakup in the family
A report from The Columbus Dispatch said that the two brothers were planning to attend their sister Katie Gaudreau’s wedding in Philadelphia on Friday.
His wife, Meredith, was going to be the maid of honor, and both men were going to be groomsmen.
On Thursday, the bride-to-be shared a picture of a rehearsal ceremony on Instagram and a post from the past by a friend that said “T-1 day till she says I do.”
In a sad statement read by their uncle, the Gaudreau family spoke about the deaths of the two brothers.
The family said, “Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brothers, two sons and brothers-in-law, two nephews, two cousins, two family members, two teammates, two friends, but most of all, two amazing people.”
“We want everyone to know that your messages of love and support are getting to us, and we appreciate your prayers and thoughts.”
This year, Gaudreau and Meredith had their second child. They named him Johnny after Gaudreau’s father.
“Love you @johngaudreau03 – 2 under 2 life here we comeeee,” Meredith wrote on Instagram to tell everyone that their first son had been born.
LOSS THAT IS TERRIBLE
In a sad statement as news of Johnny and Matt’s deaths spread, the Columbus Blue Jackets remembered them.
“The Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy,” they wrote.
There’s more to Johnny than just being a great hockey player. He was also a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.
“We extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Meredith, his children, Noa and Johnny, his parents, their family and friends on the sudden loss of Johnny and Matthew.”
At the same time, fans paid tribute to Gaudreau and said prayers on his Instagram page and under the team’s official statement.
“The hockey world will be hurting for a long time,” one person wrote. Others called the Blue Jackets star a “legend” in the game.
Wow, this hurts so much. “Rest in peace, Johnny and Matthew,” wrote someone else.
One fan wrote on Gaudreau’s Instagram page, “You’re the reason I wear #13.”
“Way too early Johnny, you got some fight in ya, so sorry for family,” someone said.
One person said, “I’ve been sitting here crying over Johnny Gaudreau.” Another person said, “This is unfair.”
Matthew, who is 29 years old, used to play ice hockey for the Worcester Railers before he quit.
A fan wrote, “My heart is destroyed,” under his most recent Instagram post about his 2022 honeymoon.
The hockey star had signed a $68.2 million, seven-year deal with the Blue Jackets. He was already two years into it.
Union and Blue have praised him for “producing offense entirely on his own” after a slow start to the season and for scoring 18 points more than the next forward to take the lead for the team.
We asked the New Jersey Police Department and the Blue Jackets for their thoughts.