Columbus Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen, Johnny Gaudreau and Jarmo Kekäläinen pose for a photo after the team signed Gaudreau. Bailey Johnson/The Columbus Dispatch
Blue Jackets star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, died Thursday night, the team said. Police said they were killed while biking Thursday night in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, close to their hometown in Salem County, New Jersey.
Gaudreau, 31, was the Blue Jackets’ top forward after signing in July 2022 as an unrestricted free agent from the Calgary Flames. According to a post on a popular wedding site, Gaudreau and his brother were scheduled to be groomsmen in their sister’s wedding Friday in Philadelphia. Gaudreau had two young children, a daughter, Noa, and son, Johnny, with his wife Meredith and both were born in Columbus.
How did Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau die?
According to information provided by the New Jersey State Police, the Gaudreau brothers were killed after a suspected drunk driver crashed into them on a rural road. Matthew Gaudreau was 29.
Sean Higgins, the driver, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, and police charged him with two counts of death by auto and took him to the Salem County Correctional Facility. Authorities have not said when Higgins will make his initial court appearance.