Sean M. Higgins, the motive force charged with killing NHL hockey participant Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew whilst they biked on a rural street in New Jersey remaining 12 months, is looking a pass judgement on to brush aside his indictment in new court docket paperwork that say the brothers had been ingesting previous to the collision.
Higgins, 43, used to be charged with two counts of dying through auto, in conjunction with reckless using, ownership of an open container and eating alcohol in a motor automobile. In September 2024, it used to be reported that he had a blood-alcohol degree of .087, above the .08 criminal prohibit in New Jersey.
Higgins struck the brothers from at the back of as they had been driving their motorcycles in Carney’s Level, N.J., on Aug. 29, killing them each within the fatal hit and run. However now Higgins’ legal professionals are claiming that the Gaudreaus’ blood alcohol used to be upper than his in an try to get his fees dropped.
Consistent with the brand new court docket submitting, Higgins’ legal professionals say trying out carried out as a part of the investigation after the deadly crash confirmed that Johnny had a blood-alcohol degree of 0.129 when he used to be killed, whilst his brother Matthew’s studying used to be 0.134.
Consistent with New Jersey legal professional Rachel Kugel, who spoke all through the listening to on Tuesday, there’s no criminal prohibit for alcohol intake for cyclists within the state. They’re exempt from the legislation that governs using whilst intoxicated.
“There’s no criminal prohibit for alcohol on a motorbike,” she mentioned. “It’s a non-motorized automobile operated through human muscular energy, and, subsequently, no longer coated underneath the DWI regulations.”
Higgins’ legal professionals didn’t argue that the Gaudreau brothers’ blood-alcohol ranges performed any function within the crash and didn’t allege the brothers had been breaking the legislation on the time, in step with the document.
The submitting is looking for additional info on how the readings for the blood-alcohol ranges had been accumulated for all events.
Get day-to-day Nationwide information
Get the day’s most sensible information, political, financial, and present affairs headlines, delivered for your inbox as soon as an afternoon.
“We imagine those filings are very important to making sure that our consumer’s Constitutional rights are safe and that he’s no longer being handled unfairly based totally upon the volume of exposure being garnered,” Richard F. Klineburger III and Matthew V. Portella, Higgins’ legal professionals, mentioned in a remark.
Higgins’ legal professionals additionally issued two different motions on Tuesday, which cope with his arraignment in January, after turning down a 35-year plea deal and pleading no longer accountable to 2 counts each and every of annoyed manslaughter and vehicular murder. His legal professionals requested for main points on an identical Salem County plea offers lately.
The pass judgement on Tuesday set points in time for the defence to report its motions and for the prosecution to report a reaction. The events are set to go back to court docket on March 26.
Higgins faces as much as two decades, a sentence that the pass judgement on mentioned made him a flight possibility. Higgins reportedly broke into tears after the ruling in September, and cried off and on all through the listening to, a number of shops reported.
Sean M. Higgins, most sensible, the alleged drunken motive force charged with killing NHL hockey participant Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural street, seems sooner than Pass judgement on Michael Silvanio, for his listening to by the use of video from prison, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Woodbury, N.J.
Derik Hamilton / The Related Press
Higgins instructed police he had 5 or 6 beers that day and admitted to eating alcohol whilst using, in step with the legal criticism. He additionally failed a box sobriety take a look at, the criticism mentioned. A prosecutor prior to now mentioned he were ingesting at house after completing a piece name at about 3 p.m., and he additionally had an scary dialog along with his mom a couple of circle of relatives subject.
He then had a two-hour telephone name with a chum whilst he drove round in his Jeep with an open container, first assistant prosecutor Jonathan Flynn mentioned. He were using aggressively at the back of a sedan going simply above the 50 m.p.h. pace prohibit, from time to time tailgating, the motive force instructed police. She mentioned she bogged down and veered left to steer clear of hitting the cyclists and Higgins opted to cross her, veering proper, which is when he hit the brothers.
Prosecutors additionally claimed Higgins had a historical past of competitive using and street rage, and pointed to a dialog between the motive force and his spouse, made in a while after he used to be booked into prison.
“‘You had been almost definitely using like a nut like I at all times inform you you do. And also you don’t pay attention to me, as a substitute you simply yell at me,’” his spouse instructed Higgins when he referred to as her from prison after his arrest, Flynn mentioned.
Johnny Gaudreau used to be a fourth-round pick out of the Calgary Flames in 2011 and made his NHL debut in 2014 simply after taking part in his ultimate faculty sport. He used to be named to the league’s all-rookie staff all through his first complete skilled season.
He used to be perennially one of the crucial most sensible gamers within the game and in 2021-22 set profession highs with 40 targets, 75 assists and 115 issues.
That summer season, he signed a seven-year contract value $68.25 million with the Columbus Blue Jackets as the highest unfastened agent available on the market. He made two extra all-star weekend appearances, giving him seven general.
Matthew Gaudreau – who performed hockey along his well-known brother at Boston Faculty – used to be set to grow to be a first-time dad along with his spouse, Madeline, in December.
—with recordsdata from World Information’ Michelle Butterfield and The Related Press
&reproduction 2025 World Information, a department of Corus Leisure Inc.
Discover more from The Mass Trust
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
