Grieving hockey followers erected a memorial Saturday on the New Jersey nook the place an alleged drunk driver claimed the lives of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his youthful brother Matthew.
A cross crafted from outdated hockey sticks bearing the names of the brothers and their respective participant numbers was plunged into the bottom alongside County Route 551 in Oldmans Township, the place the duo had been biking collectively Thursday night.
A number of different sticks had been organized on the grass peppered between dozens of flower bouquets, balloons and an indication promising that the brothers shall be “ceaselessly in our hearts.”
Odes to the Gaudreaus’ respective hockey careers had been additionally supplied up on the memorial — together with two bottles of Gatorade, which served as a nod to Johnny Gaudreau’s custom of sharing a bottle of the sports activities drink along with his outdated Calgary Flames teammates after scoring a objective.
One man who laid down flowers instructed The Publish that the choices had been left by “all the hockey group throughout the nation.”
They even left behind flowers, hockey sticks and even jerseys entrance of the house of their surviving members of the family — who had been meant to be celebrating a marriage fairly than the lack of each brothers.
“What makes this so unhappy is that it may have been preventable. If he drank, why didn’t he simply take an Uber?” one grieving customer, who declined to share their title, stated of the alleged drunk driver.
Suchat Pederson/New York Publish
Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, had been biking of their New Jersey hometown once they had been struck and killed by a motorist who allegedly instructed a state trooper he guzzled “5 to 6” beers” earlier than the crash.
The driving force, Sean Higgins, reportedly tried to cross an SUV in entrance of him, which had moved into the center of the roadway to present the brothers loads of room, simply after 8 p.m.
The US Military Main tried to cross the SUV on the suitable, hanging the Gaudreaus from behind. The county highway is rural, with crops on both aspect. There are not any shoulders or avenue lights.
The tragedy struck at some point earlier than the Gaudreau brothers had been set to participate as groomsmen of their sister Katie’s marriage ceremony to hockey participant Devin Joyce in Gloucester Metropolis, NJ. The household had even celebrated the marriage rehearsal simply hours earlier than the tragedy.
Johnny, who performed for the Columbus Blue Jackets, leaves behind a spouse and two younger daughters.
Matthew’s spouse is pregnant and is anticipating their first baby in December.
Higgins — who appeared to sigh with exasperation in courtroom upon studying he can be held in jail by way of subsequent week — faces two counts of vehicular murder.
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