In Memoriam Johnny Gaudreau & Matthew Gaudreau killed by drunk driver while cycling (MOD WARNING. No Flaming, Trolling, or Politics.)

[crazychimp]

Just saw this and am in such shock wow, RIP and condolences to the Gaudreau family.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I will say that biking at night is never a good idea. This is a lesson to have lights on your bike and reflective high-vis vests.

Two young men are dead after being killed by a drunk driver and this is your response? That it was partly their fault?

By the account of what happened lights and reflective vests wouldn't have made a difference (you're also assuming they didn't have lights on their bikes).

Your post is the perfect example of what I said in my previous post. A drunk driver hit and killed cyclists yet in the mind of many people there's often this belief that the cyclists were somehow to blame.

 

[Coffey]

My guess is sentenced to 5 years, out in 3.

Thats so f***ing terrible.

Two young men are dead after being killed by a drunk driver and this is your response? That it was partly their fault?

Seriously, f*** off.

By the account of what happened lights and reflective vests wouldn't have made a difference (you're also assuming they didn't have lights on their bikes).

Imagine someone victim blaming at this point.

 

[End on a Hinote]

Yep, It does. I get emotions are running high right now, but some of these hot takes are insane. Not wanting people to drive after 1 drink is going completely the other way.

Especially if you're nursing that beer for a period if time.

 

[swiftwin]

Yep, that's the lesson to take away from this.

I hope this is sarcasm.

The lesson to take away from this is don't drive drunk and don't drive reckless agressive manner. Don't blame the victim.

 

[TheBeard]

So the asshole driver was a)drunk b) passing on the right c) speeding and d)exhibiting signs of road rage (since he was convinced the suv in front of him wasn’t letting him pass).

I wish nothing but the worst for him in prison

 

[MOGlLNY]

Johnny Gaudreau at Kevin Hayes’ wedding last summer. He should’ve been doing this tonight.

It can happen in a flash. Life can be really hard but it's important to cherish the moments with people you love because it's not promised.

 

[StreetHawk]

Yeah. I understand being anti-drinking and driving, but having literally one drink over a one hour dinner will probably have you almost at 0%.

My rule is one drink. That's it. Any more, I don't drive.

With ride share options like Uber/Lyft, people should be making decisions on how to get to and from an event before they head out. If any drinking is expected, use the ride share.
Once people take their car, even if they think about using ride share, they don't want to leave their car as it's likely to get towed and they don't want to pay and/or take the time to deal with getting it back so they take the risk and drive home.

 

[FiveTacos]

I’ve always respected the hell out of recovering alcoholics that wear it like a badge of honour and don’t feel any shame for it. It’s not something people should be ashamed of but sadly not all of society views it the same way.

I worked in the wine industry for some time, most of the time alcoholics in that industry wash out; alcohol production and alcoholism do not mix. One of my bosses was actually an alcoholic, but he was self aware enough at some point to realize it, and quit drinking and left the industry. Awesome guy, and still one of my best friends.

The way he put it was, he realized he had a problem one day when he started drinking while he was trying to plan what he was going to drink later that day.

 

[SoupNazi]

That would have made zero difference in this case.

The lesson here for cyclists are "drivers in this country are assholes and you're only safe by biking where there aren't cars". Being in a bike lane or shoulder or wearing reflective vests do nothing in this kind of situation.

Hell, even where there are bike trails, you aren't necessarily safe. In my city we have a 20 mile long former rail trail, and in spite of the huge "NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES" signs I can't tell you the number of times I've seen morons on motorcycles riding on it because it's a convenient shortcut through town.

 

[WillTheThrill]

If he was sober, he wouldn't have attempted to aggressively pass a vehicle on the right side (shoulder).

That's debatable. There are plenty of reckless drivers who would pull a move like this even whilst sober.

 

[2ndGenIslander]

I've driven through the vast majority of the country too, Maryland drivers and Florida, especially the stretch of I-4 near the Orlando theme parks are the ones I personally find to be the worst drivers and areas.

Like someone else said already, this wasn't 2 aggressive drivers though, it was 1 drunk driver who shouldn't have been behind the wheel.

Yeah and driver definitely had no idea there was two bikers on the shoulder, he was prob pissed because he interpreted the car in front of him was trying to box him out from passing him, when really car in front saw the bikes and was trying to accommodate them. So he got pissed and tried to pass him on the right and hit the gaudreaus.

This is so surreal, I’ve been watching hockey for a long time and don’t remember a marquee player in the league in their prime being killed like this. Beyond awful

 

[SoupNazi]

If he was sober, he wouldn't have attempted to aggressively pass a vehicle on the right side (shoulder).

Not defending this guy at all, but you can't say that. People do it frequently.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I hope this is sarcasm.

The lesson to take away from this is don't drive drunk and don't drive reckless agressive manner. Don't blame the victim.

Oh, so much sarcasm. There's this weird trend in society where, regardless of the situation, there's someone ready to jump in victim blaming. The lesson should be that your vehicle can become a weapon very quickly, you should be aware of that and make sure you're not in a position for that to happen. It's the selfishness and complete disrespect for others that results in a vehicular homicide like this. I don't even think we should call it an accident, this wasn't a "whoops, couldn't have seen that coming", this was a person deliberately stating "I'm more important than you".

 

[TooManyHumans]

I did not know about this until I just saw this post. How awful. In addition to not treating drunk driving seriously enough, the US simply does not protect or respect bike riders the way we ought to. Other countries have actual dedicated lanes that are protected from the automobile traffic. I wish we took biker safety more seriously here. As it is, I would never ride along a busy road because of reckless and inconsiderate (and drunk) drivers. Just a truly horrific incident.

 

[Hellcat]

WTF!!!!

 

[swiftwin]

So the asshole driver was a)drunk b) passing on the right c) speeding and d)exhibiting signs of road rage (since he was convinced the suv in front of him wasn’t letting him pass).

I wish nothing but the worst for him in prison

I didn't think of the road rage bit, but you're absolutely right. I never understood how people rage over always wanting to be in front of other driver. Small insecure people who have issues with authority.

 

[Gnashville]

I just found out, I feel so horrible for his parents to lose 2 sons.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Yeah and driver definitely had no idea there was two bikers on the shoulder, he was prob pissed because he interpreted the car in front of him was trying to box him out from passing him, when really car in front saw the bikes and was trying to accommodate them. So he got pissed and tried to pass him on the right and hit the gaudreaus.

This is so surreal, I’ve been watching hockey for a long time and don’t remember a marquee player in the league in their prime being killed like this. Beyond awful

It's gotta be the most high profile loss of an active hockey player since Tim Horton.

 

[ShelbyZ]

RIP.

f*** Alcohol.

 

[Stealth1616]

This is just brutal. It’s one thing if it was a freak accident (which it kind of is based on the timing) but it was 100% caused my stupid and reckless actions.

All I can think about is that wedding and how happy it should be. Don’t even know how they can proceed with it

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Yep, It does. I get emotions are running high right now, but some of these hot takes are insane. Not wanting people to drive after 1 drink is going completely the other way.

This isn't the older days where you can't get an uber or something with a click of the button on your phone. If you own a car + can go out and get a drink (if it is 1) then you can afford an uber home. Personal responsibility for other people in society needs to start be a thing again

 

[Bizz]

This is not the news I wanted to wake up to. f***ing horrendous that Drunk Driving is still a thing that happens in 2024.

 

[ohcomeonref]

I can't imagine the heartbreak of th families involved. RIP

 

[DethOfDragnz]

The Hockeyguy did a video saying there was a rumor about this and he wasn't going to comment on it it unless it was official. I thought it was untrue, but unfortunately it is true. Heartbreaking day my thoughts and prayers to the Gaudrea family and his friends.