Tragedy struck on Thursday evening when Johnny Gaudreau, the key forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and his brother Matthew, passed away following a tragic bicycle accident in New Jersey. The brothers were riding their bikes on a rural road in Oldsman Township, Salem County, which is appropriately about 30 miles south of Philadelphia, where they were scheduled to be the next day for their sister's wedding when both were fatally struck.
The New Jersey State Police said the driver, Sean Higgins, 43, of Woodstown, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. He is now being charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. He was taken to the Salem County Correctional Facility. Information about Higgins's first court appearance is not available.
First-degree vehicular homicide can carry a sentence of 10-20 years per charge, and seeing as he was responsible for two deaths, Sean Higgins will easily face more than 20 years behind bars. He can also be fined $200,000 per death.
The Gaudreau brothers had been set to stand as groomsmen at their sister's wedding in Philadelphia the next day, according to a popular wedding website, which makes this situation even more tragic. Johnny Gaudreau is survived by his wife, Meredith, and their two young children, Noa and Johnny, both of whom were born in Columbus.
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
NJ man arrested in suspected drunk-driving crash that killed Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau
POLL | ||
AOÛT 30 | 262 ANSWERS The sentence Sean Higgins will likely face for the murder of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau has been revealed Will Sean Higgins be behind bars for more than 20 years? | ||
Yes | 198 | 75.6 % |
No | 64 | 24.4 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
Conference | Cumulative |