Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, killed after bicycles hit by car before sister’s wedding

Hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, who formerly played for the Calgary Flames, was killed while cycling in New Jersey on Thursday night.

Gaudreau and his 29-year-old brother Matthew were riding their bikes in Salem County, New Jersey when they were struck by a vehicle, according to New Jersey State Police, Sportsnet reported.

Police said the vehicle was going in the same direction as the brothers. The vehicle then tried to pass two other vehicles and struck the brothers from behind. When officers arrived at the scene, the brothers were pronounced dead.

The Gaudreau brothers were reportedly in town to celebrate their sister’s wedding, which was scheduled for Friday evening in Philadelphia, per People Magazine.

Gaudrea had recently turned 31 weeks prior, on Aug. 13, per the NHL website.

A man identified by police as Sean M. Higgins was arrested and charged with two counts of death by auto, per Sportsnet.

Police suspected he had been under the influence of alcohol. Police released his mugshot on Friday.

Higgins allegedly told an officer who responded to the scene that he had five or six beers before the collision and said he had consumed alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint, which was obtained by the Associated Press. The complaint also stated that Higgins failed a field sobriety test, per AP.

According to authorities, Higgins was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The fatal collision occurred around 8:19 p.m. on Thursday, while the vehicle was travelling northbound on County Road 551, The Columbus Dispatch reported. The Jeep tried to go around a “slow-moving sedan and SUV,” per the Dispatch, entering the southbound lanes.

The Jeep got in front of the sedan and “tried to re-enter the northbound lanes when the SUV in front of him moved to the middle of the roadway, splitting the north and south lanes to safely pass the Gaudreau brothers traveling north on the right side of the roadway.”

The Jeep struck the Gaudreau brothers while trying to pass the SUV on the right, the Dispatch said.

In July 2022, Gaudreau penned an open letter to Calgary in hockey publication The Players’ Tribune, saying how he was grateful to be on the team and how much it meant to him. His decision to leave was because he wanted to be closer to his family.

“I hope the people of Calgary can remember me not only as a hockey player, but also as a good person with good values. Thank you for supporting me over these years, and for making my family a part of yours,” he wrote at the end of the letter.

He said his decision to leave the team was because he wanted to be closer to his family. His father had a heart attack in 2018, which made him think about how little he’d seen his family since he joined the NHL. He then met his wife, Meredith.

“As much as we both love Calgary, I think Meredith and I just felt that it was going to be very hard to continue living as far away from our families as we’ve been living — especially as we’re starting a family of our own,” wrote Gaudreau.

Gaudreau played left wing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who on Friday morning released a statement confirming his death.

The Toronto Maple Leafs posted a message on X Friday morning, sending their “thoughts and heartfelt condolences to the Gaudreau family, their friends, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames organizations, and all those who knew and loved Johnny and Matthew during this unimaginably difficult time.”

Drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2011, Johnny Gaudreau became one of the league’s more popular players thanks to a scoring prowess and flashy offensive style that belied his diminutive size. The New Jersey native scored 243 goals and recorded 500 assists in his 11-year NHL career.

“While Johnny’s infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname ‘Johnny Hockey,’ he was more than just a dazzling hockey player; he was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

“He will be remembered fondly in Calgary, where he played his first nine seasons with the Flames from 2013-14 to 2021-22, emerging as one of our League’s brightest young stars while compiling the franchise’s fifth-highest career points total.”

Gaudreau has been in the headlines for his talent on the ice since he was a young player.

One of the first times Gaudreau was mentioned was in an Edmonton Journal article from 2003. He was nine at the time and had been invited to a hockey tournament in Edmonton reserved for the best players his age, the Calgary Herald reported.

When he played for Boston College, the Boston Globe took notice. He became the subject of a feature piece published in February 2012.

The piece referred to him as a “crafty freshman” and he earned praised from his then team captain Steve Whitney.

Gaudreau’s wife Meredith shared a photo with him and their children on the ice on April 16. It was the last photo of the family all together posted to her Instagram account. It was captioned: “Last game of the season tonight. Love our guy so much.”

The couple welcomed their daughter Noa in September 2022 and son Johnny in February, sharing the news about both of them in Instagram posts.

Meredith was working as a NICU nurse when she met Gaudreau in 2018, according to the open letter written by the hockey player.

After his father suffered from a heart attack, Gaudreau bought a vacation home where his family could spend time together.

“And that’s how we met … Meredith was my next-door neighbor,” wrote Gaudreau in the letter.

“I was so blown away by the work that she was doing. And over the course of our relationship, I’ve learned a lot from her about how to balance those two things: a passion for your work with a passion for the people in your life. I’ve learned a lot about the person I want to be.”

With additional reporting by Washington Post

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