Table of Contents
Matthew Gaudreau was preparing to welcome a baby when he and his brother, Columbus Blue Jackets, starred Johnny Gaudreauwere struck and killed on Thursday, August 29, while cycling near their hometown.
Matthew’s wife, Madeline Gaudreauexpecting a baby on December 31, according to a online registry in the name of the couple. Matthew and Madeline tied the knot in July 2021.
Although Matthew hadn’t posted on Instagram since June 2022, he often shared glimpses of his and Madeline’s love story.
“I didn’t think she would say yes!” he captioned a July 2019 photo of herself down on one knee and proposing to Madeline.
Courtesy of Meredith Gaudreau/Instagram Although Johnny Gaudreau loved hockey, his family always came first. Off the ice, the NHL player enjoyed spending quality time with his wife Meredith and their two children, Noa and Johnny. However, tragedy struck the Gaudreau family when Johnny and his younger brother, Matthew Gaudreau, were killed […]
In February 2017, he captioned a sweet wink from the couple: “Four years of happiness for this beautiful woman, without you I would not be the man I am today. I love you always.”
Matthew, who was 29, and Johnny, who was 31, were killed Thursday evening by a suspected drunk driver while riding bicycles in Oldman Township, New Jersey, according to the Columbus Shipping.
The brothers would be groomsmen for their sister Katie‘s wedding in Philadelphia on Friday, August 30. Katie shared a photo from the wedding rehearsal on her Instagram Story, hours before the tragic incident. The wedding has now been annulled, Page six reported on Friday.
The Gaudreau family responded to the deaths of Johnny and Matthew through a statement from the brothers’ Uncle Jim.
Courtesy of Meredith Gaudreau/Instagram Johnny Gaudreau and his wife, Meredith Gaudreau, were married for three years before his untimely passing. Meredith was Johnny’s No. 1 fan on the ice when he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets. “Last game of the season tonight 🥲. I love our husband so much 💙❤️,” she wrote via Instagram […]
“Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brothers, two sons and brothers-in-law, two nephews, two cousins, two family members, two teammates, two friends, but truly two wonderful people,” the spokesperson said. statement shared via X by Boston reporter Then Roche reads. “We want everyone to know that we receive your messages of love and support and we appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers.”
Johnny is survived by his wife, Meredithwhom he married in 2021, and their two children: daughter Noa, who turns 2 in February, and son Johnny, who was born in February.
Johnny spent the first nine seasons of his professional hockey career with the Calgary Flames before signing with the Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent in 2022. The NHL team shared a tribute to Johnny via X on Friday.
“The Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy. Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but above all a loving father, son, brother and friend,” the statement said. “We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Meredith, his children Noa and Johnny, his parents, their family and friends on the sudden deaths of Johnny and Matthew.”
The man is suspected of hitting Matthew and Johnny, 43 years old Sean M Higginswas taken into custody Thursday evening and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. Higgins is suspected of being drunk when he swerved and hit the Gaudreau brothers while they were biking shortly after 8 p.m. ET.
The New Jersey State Police made the announcement Us that Higgins was driving behind two vehicles when he “attempted to pass the slower-moving sedan and SUV, entered the southbound lanes, passed the slower-moving sedan, and attempted to enter the northbound lanes again when the SUV in front of Higgins moved toward the center of the roadway and split the northbound and southbound lanes to safely pass the two cyclists traveling north on the right side of the roadway.
When Higgins tried to pass the SUV on the right side, he hit both Johnny and Matthew “in the rear,” causing “fatal injuries.”