Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau killed in NJ crash involving suspected drunk driver

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.

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.

According to New Jersey State Police, Higgins, 43, from Woodstown, New Jersey, was traveling north on a county road in a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind a sedan and SUV around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday evening.

Higgins tried to pass the slower-moving sedan and SUV, entered the southbound lanes, passed the slower-moving sedan, and tried to re-enter the northbound lanes, state troopers said. The SUV in front of Higgins 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.

Many States, counties and/or cities say to give 3 or 6 feet of clearance when passing cyclists. On a 2 lane road that means you’ve got to get into the on-coming lane especially if cyclist’s are traveling side by side. Mixing bicycles and motor vehicles on a well traveled road after dark is a tort lawyers dream.

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I agree with this very much.
It’s nerve racking (for me as the driver) when cyclists have to share the road with us automobile drivers even when there is a berm for them to ride on, but worse when there isn’t! Even when they are on a berm, you still have to give at least 3 feet in my state. When traveling on curvy and hilly roads with persistent oncoming traffic, it takes a lot of patience.

Back in 1985, I was like 29 at the time, and after a wreck on my bike, I made the choice to never ever ride a motorcycle.

I was living in Columbus GA, and I was heading North on a road that veered to the right off the main road. The road I took veered onto was angled to the right as it created a new new road. It was like a V type fork and I took the new road and kept cruising. Within like 50 feet there was a K-Mart on the right with an entrance and exit to the right. That’s when a woman pulled out of the driveway without looking for me on my bike.

I began to slow down but she stopped. So I gunned my gas to start going and that’s when she decided to pull out right in front of me. I swerved to the left to avoid her, because I was traveling about 30 mph and could nit stop. As I did, my front wheel hit some gravel and bounced enough to cause my bike to lay down on the right side.

I was still on the bike as it slid down the road towards oncoming traffic. I was a passenger on a bike that I was no longer in control of. I slid like 30 feet and as I braced to impact a Garbage truck coming my way.

I had a highway bar was keeping me from rubbing my right leg on the pavement of the road, and just a few seconds before I hit the garbage truck, he stooped. As I hit him my left highway bar bent over my left leg and I got wedged under the front bumper of the truck. My helmet hit the Big bumper and I laid there for about 5 minutes as I tried to collect my thoughts.

I was finally able to get unhedged with the help of the truck driver who kept telling me,

“I saw the whole thing, I saw the whole thing. Yes sir it wasn’t your fault. That lady was crazy. I’ll go to court for you and testify, yes sir I saw the whole thing. I thank God I was able to stop or I might have killed you. Yes sir, I saw the whole thing unfold in front of me.”

He was an old black guy who seemed more jittery and scared than I was. The woman tried to take off, but a couple other drivers who saw it stopped her from leaving. My bike was wrecked, she had no insurance and all I had was liability, so my bike was not covered.

That day I decided that while I trust my driving, I have no faith n others. So I never road a motorcycle again.

That is really sad. But so preventable.

While I enjoy cycling, I don’t like trusting that the motor vehicle drivers are paying attention. Therefore, I ride on roads where I might encounter about 1 or 2 vehicles per mile of ride. If there is no oncoming traffic, I simply move to the oncoming lane WELL in advance of a vehicle closing from behind. I know there are rules against that, but the county sheriff cruisers that have seen me do that just ignore it.

If there is traffic from both ways and no bicycle lane, I GET OFF the road.

I also don’t wear a headset or earbuds when riding. I quit being a music addict over 40 years ago.

If just getting exercise, and not goingvanywhere in particular, I would do laps in vacant lot, like I did when I hauled my bike along on the OTR semi truck.

Nowadays I live near a county road with some side deadend roads. Pretty easy to ride 7 miles and maybe not meet one vehicle.

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