Suspected Drunk Driver in Hockey Player Johnny Gaudreau's Death Charged

A man has been arrested in the tragic deaths of NHL star and his brother . 

, a 43-year-old male from Woodstown, N.J. was taken into custody on the evening of Thursday, August 29 and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, Us Weekly can confirm.

Higgins is suspected of being drunk when he swerved and hit Johnny, 31, and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, 29, with his Jeep Cherokee while they were riding bicycles in Oldmans Township, N.J. shortly after 8:00 p.m.

The New Jersey State Police told Us that Higgins was traveling behind two vehicles when he “attempted to pass the slower-moving sedan and SUV, entered the southbound lanes of travel, passed the slower-moving sedan, and attempted to re-enter the northbound lanes of travel when the SUV in front of Higgins moved to the middle of the roadway, splitting the north and south lanes to safely pass the two pedalcyclist traveling north on the right side of the roadway.”

Related: Late NHL Star Johnny Gaudreau and Wife Meredith's Relationship TimelineCourtesy of Meredith Gaudreau/Instagram Johnny Gaudreau and his wife, Meredith Gaudreau, were married for three years before his untimely death. Meredith was Johnny’s No. 1 fan on the ice as he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets. “Last game of the season tonight 🥲. Love our guy so much 💙❤️ ,” she wrote via Instagram […]

When Higgins attempted to pass the SUV on the right, he struck both Johnny and Matthew “in the rear.”

Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Gaudreau. Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images

“As a result of the collision, the two pedal cyclists sustained fatal injuries,” the police said. 

Higgins was booked, took a mugshot and remains in custody at the Salem County Correctional Facility as the crash remains “an active investigation.”

Both brothers were scheduled to be groomsmen in their sister ’s wedding on Friday, August 30.

Tributes for Johnny — affectionately known as “Johnny Hockey” — began to pour in after the death of the 11-year NHL veteran was revealed.

Courtesy of Salem County Sheriff’s Office

The Columbus Blue Jackets, who Johnny signed with in 2022, posted via X that the franchise was “shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy.”

“Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving father, son, brother and friend,” the post continued. “We extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Meredith, his children Noa and Johnny, his parents, their family and friends on the sudden death of Johnny and Matthew.”

Related: NHL Tragedies: The Deaths That Have Rocked the Hockey World in 2023 and 2024A series of tragic deaths, both on and off the ice, has left the world or professional hockey in mourning. On March 18, 2024, former NHL players Konstantin Koltsov and Chris Simon were announced dead in separate instances, the latest in a string of recent passings to rock the sport. Koltsov, who played for the […]

The athlete and got married in 2021. Their daughter, Noa, turns 2 in October and son Johnny was born in February.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe

By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly

Deal of the DayScore 39% off Eva Longoria’s Favorite Hyaluronic Acid Serum!View Deal

Check our latest news in Google News

Follow Us

Check our latest news in Apple News

Follow UsjQuery( document ).ready( function( $ ) { let randomNumber = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 ), is_spanish = false, is_featured_post = false; if ( randomNumber < 96 && $( '#news-block .shop-with-us__container' ).length ) { $( '#news-block .shop-with-us__container' ).show(); $( '#news-block .news-widget, #news-block .newsletter-form' ).remove(); } else { if( $( '#news-block .shop-with-us__container' ).length ) { $( '#news-block .shop-with-us__container' ).remove(); } if ( is_spanish ) { // 99% should be newsletter signup if ( randomNumber < 99 ) { $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).remove(); } else { $( '#news-block .newsletter-form' ).remove(); $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).show(); } } else if ( is_featured_post ) { // no newsletter block $( '#news-block .newsletter-form' ).remove(); $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).show(); } else { // 50/50 if( 0 === parseInt( $.now() ) % 2 ) { $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).remove(); } else { $( '#news-block .newsletter-form' ).remove(); $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).show(); } } if ( navigator.userAgent.match( /(iPod|iPhone|iPad)/ ) ) { $( '#news-block .news-widget .google-news' ).remove(); } else { $( '#news-block .news-widget .apple-news' ).remove(); } } } );

Boston College, where both Johnny and Matthew played collegiate hockey, posted their own tribute on social media. 

“The entire BC community is stunned by the tragic news,” the school wrote via X. “Johnny Gaudreau was not only one of the greatest @BC_MHockey players but also one of the nicest. Matthew was a gifted player & beloved by teammates. Our prayers are with the Gaudreau family at this time of unimaginable loss.”

Matthew spent seven years playing minor league hockey after his time at Boston College. He married wife in July 2021 and was the acting head hockey coach at Gloucester Catholic High School in New Jersey where both brothers also played.

Suspected Drunk Driver in Hockey Player Johnny Gaudreau's Death Charged

Suspected Drunk Driver in Hockey Player Johnny Gaudreau's Death Charged

Suspected Drunk Driver in Hockey Player Johnny Gaudreau's Death Charged

Suspected Drunk Driver in Hockey Player Johnny Gaudreau's Death Charged

Suspected Drunk Driver in Hockey Player Johnny Gaudreau's Death Charged