An attorney for the New Jersey man accused of killing hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother, Matthew, in a drunken crash last August claims the victims drank more than the defendant and has asked for the charges to be dropped.
The Gaudreau brothers were riding their bicycles along a rural road in Salem County when Sean M. Higgins attempted to pass another driver on the right and hit the brothers from behind, police said. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
At the time of his arrest, Higgins allegedly had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.087%, just over the legal limit, according to NJ.com. However, in a new court filing, attorneys for Higgins say testing done after the crash showed Johnny Gaudreau had a BAC of 0.129%, while Matthew’s was 0.134%.
Katie Gaudreau with her brothers, Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, who were fatally struck by a suspected drunk driver. (Instagram / Katie Gaudreau)
Higgins’ attorney doesn’t contend the Gaudreau’s drinking led to the crash nor is either brother accused of DWI for operating a non-motorized vehicle after drinking. But the defense reportedly hopes to suppress the results of their client’s blood alcohol testing and dismiss statements Higgins made to authorities after the crash.
Police located Higgins not far from the scene of the accident after his badly damaged vehicle became inoperable. He reportedly told police he’d consumed as many as six beers before getting behind the wheel on Aug. 29, but hadn’t “had one in like two hours.”
Higgins, 44, faces two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a deadly accident and tampering with physical evidence. He pleaded not guilty in January.
The defendant was reportedly offered a plea agreement that would put him behind bars for 35 years, but declined that deal.
He was in court on Tuesday for a hearing involving pretrial motions. He’s expected back in court on March 26.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, was an NHL star who played for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Matthew Gaudreau, 29, played hockey at Boston College. The brothers were killed the day before they were supposed to be groomsmen in their sister’s wedding in New Jersey, where they were raised.