Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were killed on Salem County Route 551 near Stumpy Lane in Oldman’s Township. Johnny played in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames. Matthew played in the ECHL and the AHL. They were also teammates at Boston College. The news has rattled hockey fans throughout the US and Canada. We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Johnny and Matthew.
This was a crash that was avoidable on so many levels. Route 551 is a semi-rural road with no shoulders and a 50 mph speed limit. The suspect, Chris Higgins was allegedly drunk when he passed other drivers illegally before hitting them from behind. Higgins has been charged with 2 counts of Vehicular Homicide.
We have issued a press release with our partner organizations within the New Jersey Vision Zero Alliance and it contains two important asks:
At the state level, we need the Legislature to Pass, and the Governor to sign the Target Zero Commission Bill. The Commission would be charged with creating a comprehensive plan to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on New Jersey’s roads by employing proven strategies and countermeasures.
At the national level, we must pass HR 1668 – the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act. It was 2 years ago this week that Ms. Langenkamp, a mother of two and a diplomat at the US Embassy in Ukraine was killed in a bike lane on River Rd in Bethesda, MD while biking between two off-road paths. This bill highlights the need to fill gaps in biking and walking networks and makes it easier for states and local governments to use Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) dollars as a “local match” to build safe bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
This was a crash that was avoidable on so many levels. Route 551 is a semi-rural road with no shoulders and a 50 mph speed limit. The suspect, Chris Higgins was allegedly drunk when he passed other drivers illegally before hitting them from behind. Higgins has been charged with 2 counts of Vehicular Homicide.
We have issued a press release with our partner organizations within the New Jersey Vision Zero Alliance and it contains two important asks:
At the state level, we need the Legislature to Pass, and the Governor to sign the Target Zero Commission Bill. The Commission would be charged with creating a comprehensive plan to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on New Jersey’s roads by employing proven strategies and countermeasures.
At the national level, we must pass HR 1668 – the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act. It was 2 years ago this week that Ms. Langenkamp, a mother of two and a diplomat at the US Embassy in Ukraine was killed in a bike lane on River Rd in Bethesda, MD while biking between two off-road paths. This bill highlights the need to fill gaps in biking and walking networks and makes it easier for states and local governments to use Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) dollars as a “local match” to build safe bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
According to the NJ State Police Fatal Crash Statistics, the Gaudreau brothers were 16th and 17 people on bicycle who were killed by drivers so far this year a 30% increase of 2023. Pedestrian deaths increased by 40%. We are still going in the wrong direction, now is the time to change course and make roads safer for all regardless of their mode of travel.