Judge extends time to charge driver accused of killing NHL player and his brother

By Maryclaire Dale, Associated Press

SALEM, NJ – The driver accused of killing an NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, while biking on a rural New Jersey road, made a brief appearance in court Tuesday, where the judge gave prosecutors time to file charges.

The brief hearing, in which the judge gave prosecutors an additional 30 days to file formal charges in the Gaudreaus’ Aug. 29 deaths, marked the first time the Gaudreau family and the 44-year-old defendant, Sean M. Higgins, were confronted each other in court. Previously, Higgins appeared at hearings via video from behind bars.

Authorities say Higgins, who is from Woodstown, in southwestern New Jersey, became impaired after drinking five or six beers the day he crashed into the brothers’ bikes, and that he has a history of anger toward the road and aggressive driving.

Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were murdered near their family home South Jersey on the eve of their sister’s wedding. The family, including their father, Guy Gaudreau, declined to comment on the case Tuesday at the Salem County Courthouse.

Higgins told police that on the day of his arrest, he had driven around for two hours while talking to a friend on the phone after having a disturbing conversation with his mother.

A driver driving in front of Higgins told police that Higgins had been driving aggressively. When she and the vehicle in front of her slowed and turned left to avoid the cyclists, Higgins accelerated and turned right, hitting the Gaudreaus, she said.

Higgins had a blood-alcohol level of 0.087, which is above the state’s legal limit of 0.08, and he failed a sobriety test, police said. He faces preliminary charges of two counts of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consumption of alcohol in a vehicle.

Higgins faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of any of the death by car counts. The judge said that made him a flight risk and ordered him jailed until trial.

Defense attorney Matthew Portella has called Higgins “a loving father of two daughters” and a good person who “made a terrible decision that night.” Portella declined to comment after Tuesday’s hearing.

Johnny Gaudreau, known as ‘Johnny Hockey’, played 10 full seasons in the NHL and would be starting his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames.