Johnny Gaudreau's wife welcomes baby boy nearly a year after his fatal biking accident
The widow of late NHL star Johnny Gaudreau gave birth to the couple's third child on Tuesday, nearly a year after he was tragically killed in August in a biking accident.
Meredith Gaudreau shared the news on social media, writing that not only did the newborn share his father's middle name, but also weighed the same as his father at birth. He also "looks exactly like his daddy."
"I love you so much my baby! We are going to have so much fun," Meredith wrote. "I can't wait to give you the best life, my special boy forever."
Meredith revealed she was nine weeks pregnant in an emotional and tear-filled eulogy for her husband, who was struck and killed along with his brother, Matthew, by a suspected drunk driver one month earlier.
"In less than three years of marriage, we have created a family of five. It doesn't even sound possible, but I look at it as the ultimate blessing," Meredith said at the funeral service. "How lucky am I to be the mother of John's three babies, our last one being a blessing and so special despite these difficult circumstances."
The couple also shares two other children: 2-year-old daughter Noa and 1-year-old son Johnny Jr. Matthew's wife Madeline Gaudreau also gave birth to the couple's only son in December, four months after the brothers' deaths.
Who was Johnny Gaudreau?
Johnny Gaudreau was a professional ice hockey winger, who played for the Calgary Flames and the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 31-year-old was drafted by the Flames in 2011, playing a total of 11 seasons with the Canadian ice hockey team until he was signed as an unrestricted free agent for Columbus in July 2022.
Before he was drafted by the NHL, he played college ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles for three seasons.
"The Johnny Hockey story began in Carneys Point, New Jersey, and went through Dubuque of the United States Hockey League to the campus of Boston College, where he won the 2014 Hobey Baker Award voted as the NCAA's best player, to the international stage, where he won a gold medal with the United States at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, and on to the NHL," Gaudreau's NHL bio reads.
The New Jersey native learned how to skate by tracking a trail of Skittles candy on the ice inside Hollydell Ice Arena, where his father, Guy, was hockey director.
What was Johnny Gaudreau's cause of death?
Johnny and his younger brother Matthew were killed after a suspected drunk driver crashed into them on a rural road while biking in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, close to their hometown in Salem County.
The brothers had been in town to serve as groomsmen in their sister's wedding in Philadelphia, which was scheduled for the next day. Both died after suffering fatal injuries.
Sean Higgins, 44, was traveling north on a county road in a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind a sedan and SUV around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday evening. Higgins struck the brothers from behind while trying to pass two vehicles on the shoulder at a high rate of speed.
He currently faces six criminal charges in the brothers' deaths, including aggravated manslaughter, reckless homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, according to reporting by the Columbus Dispatch, part of the Paste BN Network.
New Jersey prosecutors said there was no evidence to suggest that Higgins, who had a blood alcohol content over the legal limit, stopped after he hit the brothers.
Higgins' attorneys have filed motions asking to have some, if not all, of the charges against him dismissed, arguing that prosecutors failed to have details about the about the brothers' blood alcohol levels reviewed by a grand jury.
Higgins next hearing date is scheduled for Tuesday, April 15. Paste BN has reached out to Higgins' attorneys for comment.
The brothers' wives filed a lawsuit against Higgins after the crash that was settled for a combined $500,000 intended to go toward the care of their children. The sisters-in-law also started JM Foundation in honor of Johnny and Matthew to help promote youth hockey initiatives, as well as help families who have been impacted by impaired driving.
Contributing: Brian Hedger, Cole Behrens, Nathan Hart and Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch