Driver in suspected DUI crash that killed Blue Jackets' Gaudreau worked in addiction rehab
A New Jersey man arrested in a suspected drunken-driving crash that killed Blue Jackets star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Thursday night has been placed on leave from the addiction treatment facility where he works.
Gaudenzia, an addiction treatment company with centers in the northeast United States, confirmed in a Facebook post that Sean Higgens was an employee.
Higgins, 43, of Woodstown, New Jersey, has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, and police said he admitted to having "five to six beers" before the crash, according to court documents.
"We extend our sympathies to the Gaudreau family during this incredibly difficult time," Gaudenzia wrote.
How did Johnny Gaudreau die?
Higgins struck Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, from behind shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday as the two were riding their bikes on County Road 551, a rural stretch of road in Oldsman Township in Salem County, New Jersey, police said.
Higgins was northbound and pulled into the southbound lanes to pass a slower-moving car in front of him, according to an incident report. When he tried to re-enter the northbound lanes, a northbound SUV in front of him moved to the middle of the road to pass the Gaudreau brothers, who were traveling north on bicycles on the right side of the road.
Related: Meredith Gaudreau remembers Johnny Gaudreau: 'Thank you for the best years of my life'
Higgins tried to pass that SUV on the right and struck the Gaudreau brothers from behind, according to the incident report.
Johnny Gaudreau was the Blue Jackets’ top forward after signing in July 2022 as an unrestricted free agent from the Calgary Flames.
Gaudreau and his brother were scheduled to be groomsmen in their sister's wedding Friday in Philadelphia. Gaudreau had two young children, a daughter, Noa, and son, Johnny, with his wife Meredith and both were born in Columbus.
Higgins will appear in court Thursday for an arraignment hearing in Salem County, New Jersey.
In addition to the two vehicular homicide charges, he was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving, consuming alcoholic beverages in a motor vehicle, having an open alcoholic beverage in a vehicle, improper passing and executing an unsafe lane change.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Johnny Gaudreau death: Driver in suspected DUI crash worked at rehab
