The wife of Johnny Gaudreau paid tribute to her late hockey player husband, vowing to make him proud in her first Instagram post since he was killed by a suspected drunk driver in New Jersey.
“Thank you for the best years of my life,” Meredith Gaudreau wrote on Instagram alongside a carousel of photos of her family through the years.
“Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours,” she continued. “I love you so so much. You were perfect. Some days it felt too good to be true. I love every single thing about you. You are my forever and I can’t wait to be with you again. I love you so much forever and ever.”
Meredith and Johnny Gaudreau married on Sept. 4, 2021. They welcomed their first child, Noa, the following September and became two-time parents earlier this year, when their son, Johnny, was born on Feb. 22.
In a follow-up post, Meredith remembered the Blue Jackets forward as “the absolute best dad in the world,” who was “the best at putting the baby to sleep and the Apple of Noa’s eye.”
“I love how much she looks like him. We are going to make you proud,” she concluded. “We love you so so so much daddy.”
Gaudreau and his younger brother, Matthew, were riding bikes along county Route 551 in Oldmans Township on Thursday night when they were hit by a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Jersey State Police said the driver of the jeep, 43-year-old Sean Higgins, was trying to pass another vehicle on the right when he struck the biking brothers from behind. They were both pronounced dead on the scene.
Johnny and Matthew — 31 and 29 years old, respectively — were in their hometown for their sister’s wedding, which had been set for Friday night. News of their deaths wrought devastation through their family, the hockey world and the New Jersey community.
Matthew served as the hockey coach at the men’s high school alma mater, Gloucester Catholic in New Jersey, and he also was an expectant father. His wife, Madeline, is due to have their first child in December.
His older brother, nicknamed Johnny Hockey, was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft out of Boston College. He went on to sign with the Blue Jackets in 2022.
Columbus Blue Jackets statement on the passing of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew. pic.twitter.com/V2aFykgKIs
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) August 30, 2024
In wake of the crash, Higgins failed a field sobriety test and reportedly told officers he had “five to six beers” before getting behind the wheel, according to a police affidavit. He was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, along with other charges including include reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.
During a court appearance on Friday, a judge ordered Higgins to remain in jail until his detention trial on Sept. 5. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.