The alleged drunk driver arrested in the de🍌aths of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother has been placed on leave from hisꦏ job&﷽nbsp;as a financial officer at a rehab center, the company told The Post.
“We received the heartbreaking news regarding the tragic crash that took the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, along with charges brought against Sean Higgins,” Gaudenzia Addiction Treatment and Recovery Centers said in a Saturday statement. “Mr. Higgins, an employee of Gaudenzia, was immediately placed on leave.
“We extend our sympathies to the Gaudreau family during this incredibly difficult time,” the company wrote.
Higgins, 43, of Pilesgrove, NJ, a married father of two young daughters, has worked at the Norristown, Pa., company since September, according to his LinkedIn profile, which also lists him as a decorated US Army major who served in the 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Ko😼sovo.
He was promoted to the rank✨ of major during a state leadership visit to the former Yugoslavian republic in 2019, when he and another major
Higgins was allegedly drunk, police said, when he mowed down seven-time all-star Gaudreau and his younger brother Matthew while they we🦄reℱ out for a bike ride on the eve of their sister’s wedding.
The Columbus Blue Jackets left winger, 31, and his brother Matthew, 29, were biking on County Route 551 in Oldmans Township around 8 p.m. when Higgins crashed into them from behind, the New ꧋Jersey S🌸tate Police said.
Higgins told🍨 police he was attempting to pass two other vehicles when he struck the brothers, who were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the criminal complaint.
The trooper who responded to the crash detected alcohol on Higgins’ breath, and the driver allegedly admitted he had “five or s𓂃ix beers” before the accident, cops said.
Higgins was arrested on two counts of vehicular homicide under suspicion of drunk driving and was ordered held behind bars until a Sept. 5 detention hearing.
According to Higgins’ , he was most recently director of financial operations at Gaudenzia, an addiction treatment center in Bristol, Pa.
Follow the NY Post’s coverage on NHL star Johnny Gaudreau’s tragic death at 31:
- Blue Jackets star Jo💯hnny Gaudreau, brother struck and killed b🏅y car while riding bikes a day before sister’s wedding: ‘Unimaginable tragedy’
- Johnny Gaudrea🌄u’s wife honors NHL star with moving tribute after devastating💝 alleged drunk driver crash: ‘Best years of my life’
- Matthew Gaudreau’s wife p🍨ays tribute to dad-to-be in heart-wrenching posts: ‘Never experienced pain like thꦓis’
- Canadiens star C🔯ole Caufield reveals touching plan to honor Johnny Gaudreau
- Fans’ Johnny Gaudreau memorial leaves NHL’s Fl꧒ames ‘speechless’
- GoFundMe for Matthew Gaudreau’s family has raised over $ജ500K after tragic ꧂death
Higgins also indicate🍷d on LinkedIn that he had been in the New Jersey Army National Guard since 2008 and was still active. The Department of Defense did not respond to an email from The Post.
Higgins’ wife and parents could not be reached for comment.
An irate woman stormed out of Higgins’ parents’ home in Oldmans Township and repeatedly screamed “No comment” at a Post reporter in the street on Saturday evening.
A next-door neighbor of Higgins’ parents, who declined to give his name, told The Post that Higgins “is just a regular guy.” He said he did not even recognize his uncharacteristically grizzled face in the mugshot when he heard the news.
“The family, they are great people. It’s sad. It’s tragic, I would say,” he said.
Both b📖rothers were also star hockey players at Boston College, where t꧋hey were coached by Jerry York.
Johnny Gaudreau’s widow to the late hockey player on her social media Saturday morning.
“Thank you for the best years of my life,” Meredith Gaudreau wrote on Instagram alongside a carousel of photos of her a🐼n꧋d Gaudreau over the years.
“Des🤪pite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours. I love youꦗ so so much,” the grieving wife added.
“You were perfect. Some days it felt too good to be true. I love every single thing about you. You are my forever an💞d I can’t wait to be with you again. I love you so much forever and ever.”
