Entire Columbus Blue Jackets team to attend Johnny Gaudreau funeral in Pennsylvania
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Funeral arrangements have been announced for Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother after the pair were killed in an alleged drunk driving incident last Thursday in New Jersey.
Blue Jackets General Manager Don Waddell announced Wednesday during a candlelight vigil that the entire team and staff will attend the funeral for the Gaudreau brothers, who were reportedly run over while riding bicycles on County Road 551 in Oldmans Township, near Salem, New Jersey on Aug. 29.
Memorial tributes for Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, continue to grow daily outside of Nationwide Arena, where flowers, hockey sticks, jerseys and much more have been placed on the open patio in their honor. The Blue Jackets hosted the vigil Wednesday, when hundreds of fans gathered for a 13 minute, 21 second moment of silence to represent jersey numbers Johnny wore with Columbus, the Calgary Flames and Boston College and Matthew wore at Boston College.
General Manager Dan Waddell along with team captain Boone Jenner and alternate captains Erik Gudbranson, Zach Werenski, and Sean Kuraly addressed the media and crowd to reflect on the Gaudreau brothers’ lives.
“Where there is a huge hole in our lineup, there is an even larger one in our hearts,” said Waddell. “Our immediate focus is on supporting the Gaudreau family and supporting each other.”
Waddell said the entire team is planning to attend the funeral in New Jersey, which will take place Monday at the D’Anjolell Memoiral Home of Broomall, in Broomall, PA, west of Philadelphia.
The team said it plans to live stream the event on its website.
The man accused of killing the Gaudreau brothers, Sean Higgins, of Woodstown, N.J., appeared in court Thursday for a detention hearing, but it was postponed until Friday, Sept. 13. He is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, which could result in a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison in New Jersey if convicted.
Higgins, 43, reportedly tried to pass two vehicles ahead of him on County Road 551 near Salem, N.J. Police said an SUV in front of Higgins moved toward the middle of the roadway, splitting the north and south lanes, to safely pass the Gaudreau brothers as they rode their bikes on the right side of the road.
Police said Higgins then tried to pass the SUV on the right side of the road and struck the brothers, who were pronounced dead at the scene.
New Jersey State Police reported in a criminal complaint that Higgins, who remained at the scene, said he consumed approximately five or six beers before the crash. He then failed a series of standardized field sobriety tests.
Higgins was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, arrested and taken to the Salem County Correctional Facility. He will now remain in custody until at least Friday, Sept. 13, when the detention hearing will continue.
Judge Michael Silvanio with the New Jersey Superior Court said that a conference took place with attorneys from both sides, who wished to postpone the detention hearing so as to supply the court with additional documentation in preparation for said hearing.
It was confirmed by NBC4 that Higgins worked at Gaudenzia, a nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment and recovery center, based out of Norristown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.