According to tragic reports, the brothers were riding bikes on a rural road called Stumpy Lane at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 29 when the accident occurred.
The Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team confirmed Johnny’s passing in a post on X on August 30, detailing how heartbroken the team is by the news.
As per CNN, Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were riding their bikes down a country road the night before their youngest sister was due to be married.
Sadly, the family of the brothers are now preparing for two funerals, while the ice hockey world is in mourning.
Johnny and Matthew had played together at Boston College prior to Johnny being drafted by the NHL’s Calgary Flames in 2011. What followed was an exciting and successful professional career that led to 243 career goals and 743 points.
“Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend,” Johnny’s team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, said in a statement the day after his death.
“The impact he had on our organization and our sport was profound, but pales in comparison to the indelible impression he made on everyone who knew him,” they went on.
Authorities say that on Thursday night a Jeep driver with the smell of alcohol on his breath traveled northbound on Stumpy Lane, the same road Johnny and Matthew were cycling on.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean Higgins, later told New Jersey State Police that he had consumed fix or six beers on the evening of the accident. CNN report that Higgins was trying to pass an SUV when he struck Johnny and Matthew. He is currently being held without bond at the Salem County Correctional Facility pending a detention motion hearing on September 5.
Higgins could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Rest in peace, Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
