NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed Thursday by a suspected drunk driver who mowed them down while they were biking in their home state of New Jersey, forcing sister, Katie, to cancel her wedding Friday, where both her brothers were set to serve as groomsmen.
Just days after the heartbreaking deaths of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, younger sister Katie is taking to social media to pay tribute.
Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were biking in their home state of New Jersey Thursday when a suspected drunk driver mowed them down, killing the pair and forcing Katie to to cancel her wedding Friday, where both brothers were set to serve as groomsmen.
The motorist, Sean M. Higgins, was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide after allegedly admitting to having five or six beers before the incident.
TMZ Sports previously reported that Katie and her fiancé, Devin Joyce, made the difficult decision to call off their wedding ceremony in the wake of the fatal crash.
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In the moving post Monday, Katie shared several family photos of her older brothers, including shots alongside their parents.
“To know these two was to love these two,” she began. “There are absolutely no words I have to express the bond my family shared. The entire world knows there would never have been a John without Matty or Matty without John. The absolute best big brothers a little girl could have asked for.”
Katie said she did not view the tribute to her brothers as a “goodbye” as she plans to never “stop saying” Johnny and Matthew’s names.
“I’ll take the best care of mom, dad, Kristen, Mer, and Madeline, your babies,” she added, referring to their other sister, her brothers’ wives and children.
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Johnny, who played in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets, was married to wife, Meredith Gaudreau, with whom he shared two children, 1-year-old daughter Noa and 6-month-old son Johnny Jr., while Matthew was expecting his first baby with his wife, Madeline Gaudreau, when he died.
Alongside the message, Katie included a slideshow of photos of the siblings through the years.
A GoFundMe page to support Madeline and her unborn son, Tripp, has already raised over $500,000.
Several sports stars have also paid tribute to the Gaudreau brothers in the wake of their death, including LeBron James, Mike Trout and more.
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