COLUMBUS, Ohio — Heartbreak filled the air outside Nationwide Arena on Friday as fans of the Columbus Blue Jackets woke up to news that star player, Johnny Gaudreau, and his brother were killed in a tragic crash in New Jersey.
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were riding bicycles Thursday night when authorities said a driver, 43-year-old Sean Higgins, tried to pass two other cars and hit the brothers.
Higgins was charged with two counts of death by auto and authorities suspect he was intoxicated.
They were in town for their sister’s wedding on Friday.
“As a fan, boy we loved watching him play. The moves he had, the way he could skate, the way he could handle a puck. It was a joy to have someone with that kind of skill and who outwardly seems like a great human being, it is a huge loss,” said Kyle Andrews.
Andrews, an avid cyclist, stopped by Nationwide Arena on his bike, joining many fans stopping to pay their respects.
“Life is fleeting and life isn’t fair. I have two other friends, really good friends, who were killed on bicycles by cars so it brings back all those memories too,” Andrews said.
When he bikes, Andrews uses safety measures like a mirror on his helmet and a monitor that alerts him when cars are around, but he said cyclists rely on drivers to be responsible and safe too.
“It is a team effort,” he said. “If someone does what they did [Thursday] night, it doesn’t matter what measures you have in place. It is game over,” he said.
Andrews hopes this tragedy reminds drivers to be safe and mindful of cyclists.
The dangers of driving while impaired are something Laura Seger understands too well. Her son, Joey, was killed by an impaired driver in 2010 when he was only 18.
“There is always another way home. Plan ahead, be a DD, make your plans before you leave the house because once you go out those plans never get made. The problem is people go out, they have a couple of drinks, say, 'I don’t feel anything, I am OK.' They are already impaired, they don’t even know it because the first thing to go is your judgment," Seger said.
She travels around Ohio to share Joey’s story and educate people about impaired driving.
“It was 100% preventable. If the person was impaired, they could have made different decisions but now they have altered everybody’s world,” she said of the tragedy involving the Gaudreau brothers.
Other fans reflected on the tragic nature of the crash while paying their respects on Friday.
“The parents, the siblings whose wedding day it is, the kids who are going to grow up without a dad, and I hope this brings more awareness to drunk driving and people need to think before they act and that goes for distracted driving as well,” said Nate McBride.
The suspect is in custody in New Jersey.