NHL star Gaudreau and brother killed in bike and car crash

National Hockey League star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother were killed in a car crash in New Jersey on Thursday night.

The Columbus Blue Jackets player - who was 31 - and his younger brother Matthew, 29, were riding their bicycles on a rural road in Oldsman Township when a car struck them, New Jersey police told the BBC.

The driver of the car, Sean Higgins, 43, has been arrested and charged with two counts of death by auto, according to officials.

Gaudreau's team called the incident an "unimaginable tragedy".

"Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend," the Columbus Blue Jackets said.

Gaudreau's brother Matthew was also a professional hockey player who previously played for the Reading Royals team in Pennsylvania.

In a statement on behalf of the family from Jim Gaudreau, Johnny and Matthew's uncle, he thanked people for their love and support.

"Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons and two brothers-in-law, two nephews, two cousins, two family members, two teammates, two friends but truly two amazing humans," he said.

Gaudreau's wife, Meredith, dedicated two social media posts on Saturday to her husband.

“Thank you for the best years of my life. Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours,” she wrote in one of the posts, showing a photo of the couple and their two young children.

In another, she called him "the absolute best dad in the world."

The Gaudreau brothers were in New Jersey to attend their sister's wedding on Friday in Philadelphia, where they were supposed to be groomsmen, according to the Columbus Dispatch, a local outlet.

Police said Mr Higgins hit the brothers with his car from behind as he attempted to pass two other vehicles on the road.

Mr Higgins is suspected of driving while under the influence of alcohol and currently is in the Salem County Correctional Facility, New Jersey police said.

He made his first appearance in court on Friday, and is still being held without bond pending a detention hearing scheduled for 5 September.

Nicknamed "Johnny Hockey", Gaudreau was the Blue Jackets' forward who scored 243 goals over the course of his 11-year NHL career.

Johnny Gaudreau joined the Ohio team in 2022 after previously playing for the Calgary Flames in Canada.

Gaudreau "played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice", the Columbus Blue Jackets said in their statement.

"He thrilled fans in a way only Johnny Hockey could," the team added.

Brian Burke, a career NHL executive said on X, formerly Twitter, that Gaudreau brought ”kindness that radiated out through the locker room every day".

"Few players in hockey history who matched his passion and love for the game,” he said.

Professional sports teams in the US, including the baseball teams the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees, held moments of silence on Friday in honour of Gaudreau and his brother.

The brothers were also mourned in Canada, where Johnny Gaudreau played for nearly 10 years.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that while he may have come from the US, "hockey fans in Calgary, and across Canada, will remember him as one of our own”.