On the evening of August 29, 2024, John and Matthew Gaudreau, 31 and 29, went for a relaxing bike ride along a rural road near their childhood home in Oldmans Township, Salem County. They were in a happy mood; their sister was getting married the next day, and they would be groomsmen in the wedding.
Sean Higgins, who was hurtling down the road behind them in his Jeep Grand Cherokee, was less relaxed. The 43-year-old, who has since been charged with reckless vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, among other charges, told police he had been drinking beers while driving around for a couple of hours with no particular plan, impatiently passing cars. He admitted that’s what he was doing on County Road 551, a few miles from the Gaudreau family home, when he swung right around an SUV and hit “something harder than a deer.” The brothers were pronounced dead at the scene. Higgins’s trial has been paused while his lawyers challenge the admissibility of his statements after his arrest.
No matter who the two victims were, the accident would have been tragic. But some tragedies hit especially hard. Legions of hockey fans were shocked at the death of John, the seven-time NHL All-Star and fan favorite known as Johnny Hockey, of the Columbus Blue Jackets and, before that, the Calgary Flames. So were the students and staff at Gloucester Catholic High School, which both brothers had attended, and where Matthew, a former pro player himself, coached the hockey team.
The Gaudreau family—parents Guy and Jane and sisters Kristen and Katie—were beyond devastated. “My children were so close,” Jane says. “They vacationed together, they spent time at the Shore together whenever the boys came home. We did everything together. It was just a way of life.”…