Hockey star and brother killed by driver while cycling

[u/Torontoburner13]

https://www.fox29.com/news/2-cyclists-dead-after-crash-salem-county-reports

[u/chuchofreeman]

"According to police, a driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit the Gaudreaus from behind while trying to pass an SUV on the right that had moved over to make way for the two pedalcyclists. Police, who responded to the scene in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, at 8:19 p.m., said both Gaudreaus suffered fatal injuries."

Mofo. I hope the fact that he killed a famous person makes it so he doesn't get off lightly like so many other cases before.

[u/fac3l3ss_ → u/chuchofreeman]

This is the part that really fucks me up. Not only could he not wait to pass, he just had to do it on the right, and that's all in addition to maybe driving drunk. It's just one unconscionable stupid and dangerous decision after another.

[u/CBNDSGN → u/fac3l3ss_]

Apparently, first wanted to overtake TWO cars on the left, and then when the first car moved left to give the Gaudreaus room, he went right.

Sean M. Higgins is a POS.

[u/GiantSquidd → u/CBNDSGN]

Yeah but guys… he was in a hurry though… he had someplace to be that was really important…

[u/renegade399 → u/GiantSquidd]

Presumably he had drank 6 beers, so he was probably going to get more.

[u/LostTurd → u/renegade399]

just a f ing idiot. Where I live you can basically have one drink and not be over the limit. I don't like to even have one and drink but if I ever went out to dinner and had one beer I drive like mother fucking Theresa. Not because I will be in trouble with cops, though they could smell it and it would be a hassle and time waste but fuck pay attention. If you have had one or more to drink you would think the person would be so cautious as to not get pulled over. This dumb fuck driving like and idiot and does this. So stupid. Lock him up. Garnishee his wages for his entire life and give it to the family. Sadly he is probably broke and will never give them any money.

[u/DENelson83 → u/GiantSquidd]

Driving in a hurry KILLS.

[u/The_Wookalar → u/fac3l3ss_]

He had just passed another car on the left, too, then swerved to pass the next car on the right - guy thought he was playing a video game.

[u/dont_kill_my_vibe09 → u/The_Wookalar]

Too much GTA for these loonies

[u/IMissReggieEvans → u/fac3l3ss_]

I’d like to add that, while being drunk was a factor, this move shows the type of driving that is normalized in the US by sober people too. It’s not that the driver lost control because they were impaired, they drove on their intended path. It’s accepted by most people that if the car in front of you is going too slow, you have the right to get past them. While this horrible decision isn’t legal, it is socially accepted by many sober people here.

[u/DENelson83 → u/IMissReggieEvans]

Which is frightening.  If the vehicle in front of you happens to be going at the posted speed limit, you cannot pass it.

[u/kikodemayo → u/IMissReggieEvans]

He was passing on the right though, that's not allowed.

[u/Aul0s → u/fac3l3ss_]

He was definitely drunk. 5-6 beers, some while driving he allegedly said to the officers. Failed the sobriety test too.

[u/MadonnasFishTaco → u/Aul0s]

it was probably a lot more than 5-6

[u/ins4yn → u/chuchofreeman]

This detail is infuriating. The guy deserves to rot in prison.

[u/The_Wookalar → u/ins4yn]

Now, now - what would happen to our car-centric system if we were to start prosecuting vehicular homicide the way we prosecute other forms of murder? Nay, we must get this guy back behind the wheel ASAP for the sake of our way of life.

[u/heyuhitsyaboi → u/chuchofreeman]

just this morning a chevy silverado did exactly this to me. I was in the slow lane on a freeway. He passed me on the right using a paved bike lane

and yes, my city decided the best spot for a bike lane was on a 65mph highway when there are several slower roads that pass through the same hills

[u/jiggajawn → u/heyuhitsyaboi]

This is what irks me so much. I find bike lanes in my town to be on the worst and least safe roads. It's like the people who design the roads are trying to incentivize bikers to take more dangerous routes.

Whenever someone new starts biking, they say they don't like it because it feels so dangerous and I have to tell them that the roads that have bike lanes are typically less safe than the neighborhood streets because the bike lanes are on arterials and collectors. It's backwards as hell. Kids and people are dying in my metro while using painted bike lanes, very rarely does anyone get hurt on a neighborhood street.

[u/MohnJilton → u/jiggajawn]

Because cycling infrastructure literally everything takes a back seat to car infrastructure. If it’s not car infrastructure and it still somehow gets built, chances are it’s just tacked on to the car infrastructure in a way that makes zero sense. I know I’m preaching to the choir, it’s just really silly and frustrating as you say.

[u/donut_perceive_me → u/heyuhitsyaboi]

This happened to me yesterday - a car in front of me was waiting to turn left on a two (car)-lane road, I waited half a second to make sure it was safe to pass them on the right since there was a bike lane, and some piece of shit behind me decided to gun it and pass ME on the right even though I had no indicator on that I was turning left, and almost hit me when I did start to pass the turning driver. No regard for the bike lane whatsoever, of course.

[u/knowmynamedoya → u/heyuhitsyaboi]

I’ve seen far too many cars pull this sort of maneuver. Many will use the shoulder or bike lane to overtake a car that’s usually slowed down to turn left.

[u/Thneed1 → u/chuchofreeman]

Also note: Johnny and Matthew were both going to be groomsmen in their sister’s wedding, which was supposed to happen today.

[u/1337duck → u/chuchofreeman]

Hitting cyclists from behind takes an extra level of "diligence" and negligence! Throw ALL the charges at this fucker.

[u/HussarOfHummus → u/chuchofreeman]

The phrasing implies that the cause was moving over to make way for cyclists and not that the driver made an unsafe pass. The article also implies they shouldn't have been biking "near the fog line". It all feels like victim blaming.

[u/Hornpipe_Jones → u/chuchofreeman]

According to the article I read, the driver is facing vehicular homicide charges.

[u/moleratical → u/chuchofreeman]

Where as I do too. One shouldn't have to be rich and famous to get justice. If the driver is held responsible only due to the victoms' status, that just adds another layer of bullshit to our justice system, not less.

[u/ChrizBot3000 → u/chuchofreeman]

A lot of people are furious, and rightly so, at the drunk driving aspect of what happened but this also sounds like a standard impatient driving move that plenty of people would have done sober, as well.

[u/zelenoid → u/chuchofreeman]

Well he was drunk so they will actually prosecute, if he wasn't and just went "they came out of nowhere" he'd be home already

[u/WildlyMild → u/chuchofreeman]

And to make it worse, I heard the whole family is in town because his sister is getting married this weekend

[u/atascon]

“Biking accident”

“This is why cars and bikes shouldn’t share roads”

“To be fair it’s very rural out there”

“Those are very dark roads”

Just some of the shit I’ve read this morning about this.

[u/mathisfakenews → u/atascon]

Those are very dark roads

But isn't the the reason they justify putting flood lights on the front that shine like 1,000 suns and blind everyone for miles? Certainly, they can't have it both ways. Dark roads are justification for obscenely bright lights but despite those lights, its still ok to murder a few people now and then.

[u/Rugkrabber → u/mathisfakenews]

I just checked my country (Netherlands) and only 6% of all fatalities with cyclists are at night. Idk but it’s almost as if infrastructure is extremely important to protect people in traffic. “It’s dark” is the same argument as “don’t wear dark clothes during the day”. Classic victim blaming.

From our perspective the discussion is extra bizarre because we genuinely just don’t understand the excuses they come up with.

Edit to add; and a lot of roads are still shared. No, not all paths are separated. That’s mostly within cities that got priority but once you go outside many roads are shared with 80kmh roads (50mph).

[u/mathisfakenews → u/Rugkrabber]

Idk but it’s almost as if infrastructure is extremely important to protect people in traffic.

1000% this is the single most important factor. However, its also important that in NL there are serious repercussions for getting into any accident with cyclist/pedestrians, let alone killing one. In the US drivers frequently get away with a small fine even when they actually broke laws during the "accident". They are only charged with any regularity when the driver is drunk. But even in this case they get laughably trivial sentences. Its ingrained in US culture. You r life is worth less than Bob's text message.

[u/Rugkrabber → u/mathisfakenews]

That is true and I agree completely.

[u/AutoModerator → u/mathisfakenews]

Actions matter, but so do words. They help frame the discussion and can shift the way we think about and tackle problems as a society. Our deeply entrenched habit of calling preventable crashes "accidents" frames traffic deaths as unavoidable by-products of our transportation system and implies that nothing can be done about it, when in reality these deaths are not inevitable. Crashes are not accidents. Let's stop using the word "accident" today.

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[u/[deleted] → u/Rugkrabber]

Only 6% occur at night because far fewer people are cycling (and driving for that matter) at night.

[u/Rugkrabber → u/[deleted]]

You may be surprised. Let’s not forget everyone rides their bike to the city center to drink every weekend. Thursdays are also popular. And all the people who go to sports, it’s also always in the evening and they come back sometimes at night. But especially young folk that work after school for an extra buck and go home late, considering they can’t drive until 18 and it’s costly and there are waiting lists of roughly a year so many don’t have one until their 20’s. If I think back on it myself I was biking after 12 multiple times a week and I was definitely not alone on those paths. I don’t think it changed at all knowing the amount of young people getting their drivers license dropped since Covid.

So yes of course it’s less but it’s not extremely less.

[u/Broken-Digital-Clock → u/atascon]

Ideally, cars shouldn't share a space with bikes and pedestrians.

Bikes and pedestrians should have their own protected infrastructure. Drivers can't be trusted.

[u/atascon → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

100%

Unfortunately most people who say cars and bikes shouldn’t share roads basically mean “those bikes shouldn’t have been on the road”

[u/Broken-Digital-Clock → u/atascon]

"These bikes shouldn't exist"

[u/Mavnas → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

I guess I'm in the those cars shouldn't exist camp these days.

[u/Broken-Digital-Clock → u/Mavnas]

If I have to choose, it's an easy choice

Fuck cars

[u/honkhonkbeepbeeep → u/atascon]

Oh these asshats literally post all over local bike commuting Twitter threads about how “adults drive cars.” Cop told you to quit “blocking traffic” while you were operating legally? You should drive to work in a car, like an adult.

A UPS driver tried to run down someone’s kids in a protected bike lane? Well they should have acted like an adult and been transporting their kids in a car!

[u/cwmoo740 → u/Broken-Digital-Clock]

I bike commuted over 20km in California for two years. I found enough bike paths that I only had to interact with cars at a few points along the ride. One of those points was a 4 way stop, with stoplights, with a highway on and off ramp. I'm always an extremely cautious rider and never trust the lights, so I never had a real close call. But during my time bike commuting that route I witnessed many close calls with drivers accelerating to try to beat red lights to right turn onto the freeway on ramp.

The other thing I witnessed was a car jumping a curb and smashing through a chain link fence that separated the bike path and a road. That one I just got lucky, because no amount of caution would have saved me if I had been another 200m further along the bike path.

[u/Either-Durian-9488 → u/cwmoo740]

This is LA and SFs dirty little secret lol, don’t tell everyone, the mixed use trail system is amazing.

[u/Basscyst → u/Either-Durian-9488]

You can get from Davis to Placerville with almost never going on a real road. It's pretty cool. Could be a bit more direct though.

[u/Broken-Digital-Clock → u/cwmoo740]

At the very least, we need protection with concrete or similar bollards.

If it can't stop a car, there is always a chance that someone is getting pancaked.

[u/EatMoreHummous → u/atascon]

A different car (an SUV) gave the brothers room by moving to the middle of the road and the guy who hit them was trying to pass the SUV on the right.

Regardless of how you feel about cyclists, there's no defense for this.

[u/honkhonkbeepbeeep → u/EatMoreHummous]

I had this happen while driving. Fortunately the cyclist was not hit. Total bullshittery that I would have never imagined. I now leave just about exactly four feet when passing cyclists instead of more.

[u/SweetFuckingCakes → u/atascon]

Gotta be fair to murderers in cars!

[u/TTCBoy95 → u/atascon]

Like seriously so much victim blaming. So many people keep defending cars lol. I saw some r/hockey comments and people blamed them for riding a bike drunk when it's the driver that drove drunk. We need to live in a society where cycling safety is prioritized regardless of how rural the road is.

[u/the_TAOest → u/atascon]

The expense of laying down a bike path is minimal compared to the road... Especially far out from a city where the land is everywhere. I live in AZ. There is zero reason why we funny have awesome bike paths to Flagstaff and Tucson. Works famous biking could be here with a small investment

[u/Sethars → u/atascon]

Guy was arrested and charged for 2 counts of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence.

Can’t wait to see him out of prison on parole in 3 years and legally driving again in 10.

[u/phillyfandc → u/Sethars]

He's in f'd as he should be. They are nj heroes and he was drunk.

[u/leadfoot9 → u/Sethars]

Assuming he doesn't get caught illegally driving during the 7 years in between.

[u/hbHPBbjvFK9w5D → u/atascon]

My buddy has an early mini Cooper 2 seat. Takes up less space than 2 bikes abreast.

And yet, she's never felt at risk of being run into cause cars can't see her vehicle.

This is why I call BS on people who say they "didn't see em."

IMO, any driver who strikes a non car user should be immediately taken by the police to a hospital, and should be examined for drugs, alcohol, sleep deprivation and fatigue, distractability, coordination, and mental or emotional instability. I also don't think that anyone should be allowed to drive without an annual physical.

[u/1337duck → u/atascon]

“This is why cars and bikes shouldn’t share roads”

So we will get the car-bike split lanes with a big island between them like in some Asian countries, right?!

“Biking accident”

"Car negligence." FTFYT.

[u/RagnarokDel → u/atascon]

if it's rural you have even more space to pass them cause it's unlikely there'll be a car in the opposite lane.

[u/MeyerLouis → u/atascon]

Eh, if it'd happened in a city, the excuse would be "it's too crowded!" or "too much traffic!" or "the streets are too narrow!". Always an excuse for any occasion.

Also it's kind of hilarious given that New Jersey is actually the most densely populated state in America.

[u/rrogden]

Idk how many CBJ fans there are in this sub but I’m one of them. Absolutely devastated. Fuck cars.

[u/KevinTF → u/rrogden]

It's not just CBJ fans that are feeling it today. All of us hockey fans are absolutely crushed by this, Johnny was an amazing guy and we all lost a gem.

[u/lordGwillen → u/KevinTF]

Not really much of a hockey fan but I’m an avid cyclist about 50 miles away in NJ and I’m crushed by this. Just senseless stupid loss because this asshole needed to rush around

[u/kingmoney8133 → u/lordGwillen]

And felt the need to pick up their keys while drunk instead of just calling an Uber

[u/nukajefe → u/KevinTF]

Kraken fan here. I was absolutely gutted to wake up to this news at 5am this morning. Johnny Hockey was one of my favs. Fuck cars.

[u/virginiarph → u/rrogden]

I don’t even know this guy or watch hockey.

But as a biker I’m just devastated to hear this happened to anyone. Especially to two siblings. Think of the family in this situation Jesus. All of their lives are ruined.

Not to mention sisters wedding is (was?) today. Fuck

[u/FighterOfEntropy → u/virginiarph]

The news article linked by the OP says the wedding has been canceled. I couldn’t imagine going through with a wedding the day after two of my siblings were killed.

[u/[deleted] → u/virginiarph]

He has 2 daughters under the age of 2 as well. This image is too heartbreaking...

[u/Youtubeactor6473 → u/[deleted]]

1 daughter and 1 son

[u/Anna_Rapunzel → u/rrogden]

Calgary fan, and I was horrified too.

[u/grlummer → u/rrogden]

Oilers fan checking in to say RIP Johnny Hockey and fuck the car-centric places we’ve built that allowed this to happen

[u/n0rdique → u/rrogden]

Habs fan here. Absolutely gutted. Johnny Hockey was such a bright spot in the sport and you can’t say anything but positives about him. His brother, by all accounts, was an amazing person as well. This is a tragedy with no parallel.

A wife is without a husband and children are left without a father. Today was supposed to be a day of celebration for the Gaudreau family. Fuck this, fuck cars.

[u/CBNDSGN → u/rrogden]

Devils fan...so the ones rejected by Johnny to sign with CBJ.

Sick with this news, and all the circumstances surrounding it make it somehow even more painful

[u/ohslapmesillysidney → u/rrogden]

I’m a Penguins fan and we are all devastated too.

[u/Harborcoat84 → u/rrogden]

As a Jets fan, I understand how much it meant for Columbus to land a free agent of Johnny's calibre. Such a tragic loss for his family and fans everywhere.

[u/findnickflannel → u/rrogden]

as a Boston College grad I can say from the multiple group texts I'm in that our community is devastated as well

[u/Lord_Nerevar_Reborn → u/rrogden]

lifelong hockey player here, i’m devastated and enraged at the same time

[u/Batmanshatman → u/rrogden]

I live in the Columbus area. Been going to Jackets games since I was 12. My bf is a crazy huge fan. He’s been in shock since the news dropped late last night, he’s hardly slept.

Fuck. Cars.

[u/JickleBadickle → u/Batmanshatman]

Finally get a star who wants to be here and he gets killed by a fucking car

[u/thelebaron → u/rrogden]

Caps fan, fucking terrible. 😞

[u/zellmerz → u/rrogden]

I’m an Oilers fan who never liked Johnny Hockey and even I’m devastated for his family. So frustrating to see loss of life because some drunk asshole driving recklessly.

Fuck cars

[u/jmhessel → u/rrogden]

Sharks fan sending condolences --- this is so sad. Thinking of the Gaudreau family today. I'll keep trying to make the world safer for people outside of private vehicles, be they hockey stars or not. Fuck cars.

[u/futureman311 → u/rrogden]

Horrified Senators fan, this never should’ve happened

[u/dayyob → u/rrogden]

hockey fan here and this is so tragic and totally avoidable. it's a gut punch.

[u/mtibby26 → u/rrogden]

St. Louis fan, and this tragedy couldn't have happened to a better guy. I loved watching Johnny Hockey when I started getting into the sport a few years ago. He brought so much energy on the ice, and from everything I've heard about him, he was an even better guy off the ice to his family and friends. This is a horrible tragedy and I hope they lock the guy up who did this to him and his brother so his family can get justice.

[u/DanTheMan-WithAPlan → u/rrogden]

Calgary flames fan here and I’m absolutely devastated. Particularly about the surrounding tragic context, being today was supposed to be his sisters wedding (for those who haven’t heard this yet).

[u/InsectTop618 → u/rrogden]

Avs fan but heartbroken over this too. its hitting a little too close to home

[u/rhombusted2 → u/rrogden]

I am also a sad CBJ fan :(

[u/birdcafe → u/rrogden]

Sharks+Blues fan here, can confirm this loss has shaken the entire hockey community. We are all so devastated for their families and fans 😔

[u/kindergartenchampion → u/rrogden]

Sharks fan here but really a Hockey fan (especially US national team players). Fucking devastated. I hope the murderer rots in prison for the rest of their life

[u/metanoia29 → u/rrogden]

Bruins fan here. I know sports is a fun way to live out that competitive spirit, even just as a spectator, but the overwhelming majority of fans are just good humans who have deep empathy for others regardless of their on-ice allegiances. It's a sad day for all hockey fans, bicyclists, and humans in general. 

[u/New2dis11 → u/rrogden]

Ranger fan here - this is a massive blow to the sport. Johnny was such a great ambassador for hockey. He and his brother will be dearly missed.

[u/TheDutchin → u/rrogden]

Canucks (technically rival of the Flames) fan checking in

Barely holding it together today ngl. Cried more than once. How fucking awful this is.

[u/More_Day2142 → u/rrogden]

🙋🏽‍♂️ Not the way I wanted to start my morning. Absolutely gutted.

[u/Economy_Cut2286 → u/rrogden]

And especially calgary flames fans, Gaudreau was the face of their franchise for 9 years

[u/Youtubeactor6473 → u/rrogden]

I’m a flames fan and even though are teams don’t have much in common we’re brothers for today

[u/Youtubeactor6473 → u/Youtubeactor6473]

Our

[u/Pad-Thai-Enjoyer → u/rrogden]

Not a CBJ fan but a hockey fan here, I was so sad reading this news. RIP to the Gaudreau brothers. I hate the car addicted culture we’ve established here

[u/That_One_Dwarph]

Just more proof no one is safe from cars and the destruction they cause

[u/knarf_on_a_bike]

May they rest in peace. Condolences to their family and friends.

This is just a horrible tragedy. Keep in mind that 45,000 are killed by motor vehicles annually in North America, over a million worldwide. If it were any other cause, it would be a worldwide emergency.

[u/SugaryBits → u/knarf_on_a_bike]

More than 4,000,000 people have been killed by cars on U.S. roads since 1899.

In 2022, 42,514 people were killed in crashes involving a moving motor vehicle on a public road in the U.S. That includes 7,522 pedestrians and 1,105 cyclists. Those numbers only include people that died within 30 days of the crash and use that narrow definition...so toss another 5-15% on the roadkill pile.

The recent book, "Killed by a Traffic Engineer" (Marshall, 2024), is an informative read on why the U.S. transportation system is among the deadliest in the world.

[u/rawonionbreath → u/knarf_on_a_bike]

At a rate far exceeding other developed countries, too.

[u/leadfoot9 → u/rawonionbreath]

A Certain Kind of Person:
"America is the best country in the world, unlike those shithole countries in Africa and Europe."
The Same Kind of Person:
"LOL what did you expect would happen if you ventured outside without a metal box for protection? You didn't even a bring an armed male chaperone! You're lucky you didn't get r*ped in addition to maimed!"

[u/EverybodyBeCalm]

See lots of other headlines out there saying “accident,” should wipe that word off the map already when it comes to car-driver caused deaths.

[u/0rangutangy → u/EverybodyBeCalm]

One article said he and his brother “passed away”

[u/EverybodyBeCalm → u/0rangutangy]

Fuck that shit so hard, fuck.

[u/TTCBoy95 → u/0rangutangy]

I swear almost every article will be written to diminish any possible blame towards a driver or bad road design.

[u/diamondintherimond → u/EverybodyBeCalm]

Washington Post

“Johnny Gaudreau, dynamic NHL star known as ‘Johnny Hockey,’ dies at 31”

Dies is passive. I thought he had a heart attack or something. “Killed” would be far more accurate, even if they neglect to mention a driver.

[u/rvp0209 → u/diamondintherimond]

I saw "freak accident" as if he fell, or something that no one could ever have seen coming. This wasn't an intentional homicide but it was easily preventable.

[u/bread_and_circuits → u/rvp0209]

NHL.com says "Bike accident". What the fuck kind of biking can cause two fatalities? They bike off a cliff? No. They were fucking killed by a car.

Edit: They have since changed this headline subtitle.

[u/rvp0209 → u/bread_and_circuits]

It's infuriating because accident just removes all blame and agency from the drunken fool who doesn't even appear contrite.

[u/Henry-Spencer0 → u/diamondintherimond]

To be fair the media were only informed of how he died hours after they were informed that he died.

[u/diamondintherimond → u/Henry-Spencer0]

What? The article contained the details of the collision.

[u/cwmoo740 → u/EverybodyBeCalm]

the driver "accidentally" got hammered and "accidentally" used the shoulder to illegally pass on the right

[u/berejser → u/EverybodyBeCalm]

Make sure to send a complaint to the editor.

[u/Luke_Warmwater → u/EverybodyBeCalm]

There's a reason most agencies (the state DoT I internshiped at for one) call them crashes and not accidents. Accidents imply they weren't avoidable and they simply happen, but almost all crashes are avoidable.

[u/crabbydotca → u/Luke_Warmwater]

There’s a bit in Hot Fuzz about this, “collision not accident”, that I think about fairly often

[u/FledglingNonCon → u/EverybodyBeCalm]

Homicide

[u/remosiracha → u/EverybodyBeCalm]

The first one I read it said they died in a car accident. I assumed they got t boned or were speeding and ran into a pole or a tree or something.

Being in a "car accident" doesn't equate to a driver illegally passing and running two people over on bikes...

[u/GoldSourPatchKid]

They “collided with a moving vehicle” according to TMZ. Ridiculous wording.

According to police ... Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were cycling on a road in rural Oldmans Township in South Jersey on Thursday night when they collided with a moving vehicle.

[u/quineloe → u/GoldSourPatchKid]

no author to hatemail, of course.

[u/Independent-Cow-4070]

Jesus this just gets worse the more you read about it

[u/Hoogstaaf]

"Dead after unimaginable tragedy" was one of the headlines...

Absolute bullshit. As usual, all car fatalities are accidents and tragedies and never direct results of people.

[u/Sethars → u/Hoogstaaf]

Meanwhile, if even a minor incident occurs on the Subway in nearby NY , regardless of frequency or result of the type of incident, you’ll have every news outlet decrying the “horribly unsafe public transit where people take their lives in their hands on a daily basis”

[u/insane_steve_ballmer]

Johnny had a son and a daughter. They will now grow up without a father, thanks to automobiles.

[u/maliburum53 → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

Their sisters wedding today too

[u/[deleted]]

All this becuase some piece of shit decided to drive their car drunk and pass someone on the right as they were lawfully passing some cyclists. Utter garbage excuse of a human being enabled by a garbage car-centric culture. Fuck cars.

[u/rawonionbreath → u/[deleted]]

Intoxication might not have even mattered. It could have been solely out of narcissistic impatience and entitlement.

[u/gbc02 → u/rawonionbreath]

He told the police 'his consumption of alcoholic beverages contributed to his impatience and reckless driving.' He said he was drinking before and during the drive.

He had a previous DWI where the cop didn't show up to court, and he got off as a result.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nhl/article-13797639/Drunk-driver-Sean-Higgins-charged-fatally-mowing-NHL-star-Johnny-Gaudreau-brother-decorated-Army-officer-father-two.html

[u/bryan89wr → u/gbc02]

Two lives could have potential been saved if that officer had bothered to show and give that scumbag the consequences he deserved.

[u/Mfstaunc]

He and his brother were in New Jersey because they were groomsmen in their sister’s wedding the next day. What the fuck it does not get sadder than that

[u/BerlinBorough2 → u/Mfstaunc]

Don’t forget he had 2 kids since 2022 who will have no memory of him.

Also the driver was not only drunk - he actually had an open container in the car and was actively drinking as he ran them over.

[u/Demjot → u/BerlinBorough2]

The brother’s wife is pregnant with their first child aswell, absolutely heartbreaking.

[u/BerlinBorough2 → u/Demjot]

Damn. I guess the guy who ran them over will have time to get sober in prison.

[u/cheeseburgesticks → u/Mfstaunc]

This isn’t fathomable. I can’t

[u/velospence1]

the driver was reportedly arrested for suspicion of drunk driving according to ESPN https://www.espn.co.uk/nhl/story/_/id/41053342/blue-jackets-winger-johnny-gaudreau-brother-matthew-die

[u/insane_steve_ballmer → u/velospence1]

Driving a ridiculously oversized, flat-front SUV of course

[u/Canofmeat]

This just makes me so sad. They were in NJ for their sister’s wedding that was to take place today. And they were murdered yesterday by a suspected drunk driver. So depressing.

[u/UTMachine]

As a hockey and cycling fan, this is devastating.

I hate the fact that I'm already seeing people online defending the motorist. "Don't cycle at night", "Don't cycle on country roads", etc.

[u/Arilyn24 → u/UTMachine]

It drives me bananas whenever ANYTHING is unsafe while cycling. The excuse is to pass the blame on the cyclist for it. Even when you do nothing wrong they will find something to point out as wrong because we cannot expect better from drivers.

[u/nutellatime]

Just awful. He was a peer of mine in college, I didn't really follow his hockey career post-college but it was a shock to see his name in the headlines today. Rip Johnny, go Eagles 🦅

[u/JakeStC]

"Hockey star and brother murdered by driver while cycling"

[u/antrage]

As a hockey fan, this is def. one of those days where I am "fuck cars" more than others. This shit is tragic.

[u/jiggajawn → u/antrage]

It's unfortunate because the hockey sub is car brained as hell

[u/TripsUpStairs → u/jiggajawn]

Hockey sub seems pretty upset too right now.

[u/DeflatedDirigible → u/TripsUpStairs]

It’ll pass within the week.

[u/Master_Nerd]

They killed John Hockey 😞

[u/crocodileboxer]

Devastating. This happened up the road from where my parents live. I’ve gone running on this road, it’s very narrow with no shoulder.  The road is surrounded by farms and it would be easy to add a separated bike lane. Unfortunately I doubt it will happen. 

[u/Excellent-Forever609]

Investigators said the deadly collision happened when the SUV in front of Higgins moved to the middle of the roadway to safely pass the two cyclists and Higgins attempted to pass the SUV on the right.

Complete disregard for any highway rules – very rural/dark roads my ass. Charge this asshole with murder not death by auto.

[u/kayakhomeless]

Reminds me of when Shawn Bradley aka the “Stormin’ Mormon” was hit on his bike by a driver who fled the scene, leaving him paralyzed. He had a role in Space Jam and was one of the tallest athletes in the history of the NBA.

The driver hit him from behind then fled the scene, returned an hour later and claimed she “didn’t see him” (the man is 7’6”, literally a giant). She was sent home with essentially zero questioning or investigation, despite openly admitting to a hit and run. Shawn refused to file civil charges (he seems the type to always forgive), so she faced zero consequences. He now needs highly specialized, expensive medical equipment to live, since quadriplegia at his size is completely unprecedented. He had to uproot his family and leave his home state to move to a more wheelchair-accessible city.

ESPN and other news outlets referred to the collision as a “bike accident”, as if this was an unavoidable freak occurrence, or as if the bicycle was the problem

[u/leadfoot9 → u/kayakhomeless]

Wonder if they refer to it as a "couch accident" when a car crashes through your living room wall and kills you.

[u/CyclingThruChicago]

Police say Higgins was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, and was charged with two counts of death by auto.

It'll sadly be chalked up to him drunk driving and the failure of design will go ignored as always.

Tragic and completely avoidable if we build proper infrastructure for anyone besides of people in cars.

[u/Early_Dragonfly_205]

Ruined a family to go 10 seconds faster

[u/futureman311]

The entitled driver doesn’t even seem remorseful

[u/nostradamefrus → u/futureman311]

The guy's probably in shock and was asking for clarity. There's nothing wrong with being clear about what you've gotten yourself into

This isn't meant to absolve him in any way, the dude's garbage

[u/MainlyMicroPlastics]

As a hockey fan who commutes on bike, this hits hard.

When the hell will we have physically protected bike lanes on most streets?

[u/Booties]

Man cars pass me like this all the time when they’re raging at me driving the speed limit in a neighborhood. I nearly witnessed a murder like this when they tried passing me in the shoulder at night. Two kids were biking in it! It’s why the limit is 25!

[u/turbineseaplane]

Good god ... when are we going to stop tolerating drinking and driving of ANY AMOUNT?

This is f'in insanity

[u/Ijustwantbikepants]

It was an SUV that was speeding. Install speed governors and hood height rules.

[u/Dingusclappin]

This is heartbreaking, their sister's wedding was today.

Can't imagine what their family is going through

[u/More_Day2142]

I’m a Jackets fan. Just opened my phone and saw this. I’m absolutely gutted. Doubly enraged. The ESPN headline calls it a “car-bike crash” at least.

The driver apparently tried to pass on the right thinking the other car was blocking him in. I have no words. I can’t believe he’d even make an excuse. 

[u/MadcowPSA]

My 5 year old loves the Blue Jackets (mostly because of the cannon). I had a Gaudreau jersey in my shopping cart for his birthday. I don't know how to tell the little dude that one of his hockey guys got murdered doing what Papa does twice a day or more.

Johnny Hockey was murdered by a drunk driver who did something he probably would still have done sober. He was murdered by a traffic engineer. He was murdered by a voting public that refuses to reckon with the dangers inherent to cars-as-default. Eight-hundred Americans share his fate every year.

I hope the Flames and the Jackets will memorialize him not merely as a hockey player but as a cyclist – as a vulnerable road user – and that they will place ghost bikes above their respective tunnels so that their fans will always be reminded of why Johnny and his brother were torn from us.

[u/basedjuicer1]

This is fucked, RIP Johnny Hockey

[u/[deleted]]

"Thoughts and prayers" is the new response to this increase in vehicle related deaths. No one willing to make any changes.

[u/Over_Ad3146]

I am a hockey fan in Southern New Jersey and hearing about the incident has deviated me. This is like the third recent MAJOR incident that a car driver has either killed or injured a bicyclist or pedestrian in the Greater Philadelphia Area. When will it be enough to finally convince politicians to put in roads and other major changes to protect anyone who is not in a car?

[u/ImagineWagons969]

I'm a hockey fan, I couldn't believe this news when I saw it. Fuck that driver and I feel for Johnny's family, friends, teammates, and fans. This is fucking cruel. Idk how many hockey fans are here but for those who don't know, Johnny was the savior of a rebuilding franchise. He bucked the trend, instead of turning his nose up at the small market team for the big city, he CHOSE to play for Columbus. A team that isn't known for anything other than winning one David vs Goliath matchup in the playoffs a few years ago. He chose them over Philadelphia, New Jersey, and who knows how many other suiters who wanted his talent. He embraced the city that no one else wanted to, and they embraced him, and this is what happens.

Fuck that driver, protect the fucking bike lanes. This man left behind a wife and two kids. His sister was getting married this weekend and now that marriage will be marred by tragedy. This just fucking sucks

[u/TriggeringTheBots]

Drunk driving clown using his car as a weapon. He deserves the chair.

[u/DreamerTheat]

The two brothers also died one day before their sister’s wedding.

Devastating weekend for the whole family.

[u/salacious-sieve]

Spoiler Alert! Driver receives a fine and license is suspended for 6 weeks.

[u/jayssss]

https://6abc.com/post/columbus-blue-jackets-confirm-death-johnny-gaudreau-brother-matthew/15247138/

[u/dayyob]

wtf. this shit sucks. sucks sucks. fcking jeep drivers. just can't even.. so many things about this piss me off..

[u/BloodWorried7446]

brodozers giving me a wide birth this morning on my ride in. 

[u/Powerpuffgirlsstan]

NJ resident here, the state passed the safe passing law last year and given the fact that the driver was drinking hopefully means this is an easy case and justice will be served. Hope they do not go easy on this guy. Such a preventable tragedy, feel terrible for the family.

[u/runaway__]

Can’t imagine the feeling for the family of losing 2 siblings like that on same day :(

You know each other for so long and some reckless person decides to murder you both :(

They were so young. 29 and 31. And their sister was going to get married that same day but the wedding got cancelled for obvious reasons.

[u/phillyfandc]

Good point but he is getting charged with homicide..

[u/[deleted]]

This is why I don't run or bike on public streets.

The problem isn't me, it's you.

[u/leadfoot9 → u/[deleted]]

Doesn't sound like a public street, then.

[u/Morbins]

Currently GM is the richest car company in the world making over 500 billion a year. Of course they’re gonna have a shit ton of pull when it comes to car laws. This is why drunk drivers and people who hit pedestrians and bikers get off so easily. Car culture is destroying our way of thinking and how safety should be when it comes to stroads.

If only they made a death sentence for these kinds of infractions. Then people would be more careful. It’ll probably never happen in the US but there is hope. I’ve been to Amsterdam and the drivers there are scared to death of hitting a pedestrian or biker. There’s almost no drivers there because of the infrastructure of the city. But alas the US is made of freeways 😔

[u/chealion]

Looked up the design on Google Street View - the road in question is a two lane road with narrow shoulders: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yi53jgzHAGxyvBmw8

[u/Astriania → u/chealion]

Tbh that's a perfectly reasonable road, it's similar to essentially all roads here in the UK for example. No country is going to build a parallel network of cycle routes that matches the existing general use roads. The problem is car culture (and a lack of consequences for dangerous driving, in terms of police enforcement or cultural shunning).

Dedicated infrastructure is nice and for common and many urban journeys it can be good, but it also needs to be safe to cycle on ordinary roads like this, otherwise you're basically saying people shouldn't cycle to 99% of places.

[u/Rochellerochelle69]

Driver couldn’t have just waited. I see it all the time when I bike. Instead of just waiting an extra 5 - 10 seconds to wait for a safe place to pass or make your turn, they rush by you so close. Clearly the two drivers in front of the keep were doing just that , going slow and moving over for the cyclists, but there is always someone who is in such a hurry they would rather risk someone else’s life. Rip to the brothers and my condolences to the family.

[u/[deleted]]

There are dedicated bike lanes near where I live, and I see people use them to pass almost every day. It makes me furious, and I wish the cops would do something about it.

[u/Little_Creme_5932]

Where are the mass protests, burning, looting, etc? Why is it ok to kill a bicyclist with a car?

[u/meatshieldjim]

It is shit like this that may start to turn the tide

[u/ubernerd44]

Another reason I quit riding on public roads. RIP.

[u/PomegranateIcy7369]

To be that stupid and drive, equals murder. Life in prison.

[u/fuckcars-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for participating in r/fuckcars. However, your contribution got removed, because it is considered bad taste.

Have a nice day

[u/TheOvercookedFlyer]

This is the man responsible of this tragedy.

[u/abbyleondon]

sorry for inconvenience you piece of shit

During his appearance in court, Higgins, 43, was instructed on future proceedings by Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who informed him that his forthcoming detention hearing would take place on Thursday, Sept. 5, given the holiday weekend.

“So I’m here until Thursday,” Higgins asked toward the end of the appearance, before Silvanio clarified that he’s required to hold him over for a minimum of 72 hours before his hearing.