A number of reviews affirm that long-time Calgary Flames participant Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew had been killed by a drunk driver whereas bicycling by way of their New Jersey hometown hours earlier than their sister’s deliberate marriage ceremony.
In accordance with New Jersey State Police on the scene, “At 8:19 p.m., police responded to a motorized vehicle accident on Salem County Route 551 North at milepost 11.1 Oldmans Township. In accordance with the preliminary investigation, two bicyclists, one from New Jersey John M. Gaudreau, 31, of Canis Level, and Matthew R. Gaudreau, 29, of Pedricktown, N.J., had been touring within the northern a part of the county. . Sean M. Higgins, a 43-year-old man from Woodstown, New Jersey, was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee CR 551 northbound, adopted by a sedan and a SUV.
They continued, “Higgins tried to go the slower automotive and SUV, entered the southbound lane, handed the slower automotive, and tried to re-enter the northbound lane, at which era the SUV in entrance of Higgins moved to the center of the lane. The highway, then The north and south lanes cut up to permit for secure passage of two pedal cyclists touring northbound on the suitable facet of the highway. Higgins then tried to go the SUV on the suitable and struck the 2 cyclists behind him because of the collision. The bicycle owner suffered deadly accidents. Upon additional investigation, Higgins was allegedly intoxicated and charged with two counts of vehicular murder and was booked into the Salem County Correctional Facility. The accident stays beneath energetic investigation and no additional data is offered at the moment.
The Gaudreau brothers’ sisters, Katie Gaudreau and Devin Joyce, had been scheduled to alternate weddings on Friday (August 30) afternoon, however the marriage ceremony was canceled because of the current tragedy.
Johnny and Matthew had been each set to function finest males at their sister’s marriage ceremony and had simply attended the rehearsal for Thursday night time’s marriage ceremony. Johnny’s kids had been additionally listed as flower women and ring bearers on the marriage ceremony. Johnny’s spouse and one other sister had been named as one of many bridesmaids.
Johnny, broadly often known as “Johnny Hockey,” performed 9 of his 11 seasons within the NHL with the Flames along with his closing two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who printed the Assertion on his premature loss of life. The workforce stated they had been “shocked and devastated” by the tragedy, whereas calling Johnny a terrific hockey participant. What’s extra, they stated Johnny beloved his household and supplied assist to his grieving relations.
Different NHL gamers and athletes, together with LeBron James, paid tribute to the NHL nice and expressed how heartbreaking the lack of Gaudreau and his household is to the sports activities world.
