Judge rules man charged in Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s deaths will remain in custody before trial

A New Jersey judge ruled Friday that the driver accused of killing Columbus Blue Jacket hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, will remain in jail until his trial.

Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio said that the gravity of Sean Higgins’ alleged crime — driving under the influence and fatally striking the Gaudreau brothers while they were riding bicycles in Salem County on Aug. 29 — gave the court serious concerns about his early release.

“I also have to weigh the public health, safety, and welfare,” Silvanio said.

The judge called Higgins prone to “overaggressive” driving and “road rage-like behavior,” and said he was concerned that he might attempt suicide if released.

Higgins, 43, appeared virtually from Salem County Correctional Facility and grew emotional throughout the hour-long pretrial detention hearing, wiping away tears as his attorneys pleaded his case to the court.

He stands charged with two counts of death by auto and other offenses in a case that has drawn international attention. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Higgins’ attorneys, Matthew Portella and Richard Klineburger, said their client did not pose a flight or suicide risk.. At the time of the accident, Higgins worked in finance at Gaudenzia, an addiction treatment facility.

Lawyers for Higgins argued he was a “model citizen” prior to the crash, a high school honors student and athlete who went on to earn two college degrees. Since 2008, he has also served in the U.S. Army National Guard in New Jersey. Throughout his military career, he has served as a brigade fire support officer, battery commander, and an officer in Kosovo. He saw active combat in Iraq, his attorneys said, which left him traumatized. He was decorated with a Bronze Star for his service.

» READ MORE: Driver charged in Johnny Gaudreau’s death is a Drexel grad who works for a Pennsylvania drug rehab firm

Higgins had been placed on suicide watch in jail, but that precaution has since been lifted, Portella said. Attorneys offered to install a Breathalyzer device on Higgins’ vehicle, as a condition of his pretrial release that would prevent him from driving under the influence.

They noted that Higgins has been cooperative since the crash. He remained on the scene and told a New Jersey state trooper that he drank up to six beers that night, according to charging documents. He failed a field sobriety test, authorities said, and admitted that the alcohol fueled his “impatience” behind the wheel that night.

First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, said pretrial release would pose a grave risk that the state could not control.

“There simply is no condition that the court can place on Mr. Higgins that is going to control the aggressive driving, but unfortunately [also] the drinking during the driving, getting on the road, and having this happen again,” Flynn said, calling the crash a result of “impatience, anger and recklessness.”

He said the state’s evidence was strong: Higgins’ blood-alcohol content was 0.087 that night, well above the legal limit. According to Higgins’ wife of 12 years, he had a demonstrated history of road rage. He had allegedly threatened to harm himself since the high-profile crash.

“This is not the type of case where this is a whodunit or what happened,” Flynn said. “The whodunit and what happened are very well documented.”

Higgins, a Woodstown father of two young girls, appeared at his initial pretrial detention hearing last week, where his attorneys asked for an extension to file additional exhibits. His family has received death threats and has largely refrained from speaking out publicly.

Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew, 29, were enjoying an evening bike ride Aug. 29 in Oldmans Township when authorities say Higgins fatally struck them from behind with his Jeep Grand Cherokee as he tried to pass two other cars. The two men were set to attend their sister’s wedding the next day.

Two other vehicles were traveling 55 miles per hour in a 50-mile-per-hour zone as they attempted to safely pass the cyclists, at which point Higgins sped up from behind “at a high rate of speed” and tried to blitz past the two other vehicles in traffic, Flynn said.

» READ MORE: Family, NHL community provide moving send-off for Gaudreau brothers: ‘To know both of them was to truly love them’

Thousands of hockey fans have attended vigils to mourn the fallen NHL superstar in recent weeks, creating memorials from his native New Jersey to Ottawa where “Johnny Hockey” started his career with the Calgary Flames.

In Columbus last week, mourners held a 13-minute, 21-second moment of silence for the brothers who were raised on the ice together — the 13 being Johnny’s number for the Blue Jackets, the 21 Matthew’s number when he played at Boston College, including a season alongside his brother.

Matthew Gaudreau retired from the minor leagues after the 2021-22 season. He and his wife, Madeline, were expecting their first child. The family is now raising funds to help with funeral expenses and the newborn.

At a funeral held Monday in Media, which drew droves of family and friends as well as top NHL officials, Johnny’s widow, Meredith, revealed that she is pregnant with their third child.

Madeline Gaudreau, wiping back tears at the service, made an impassioned plea against drunk driving.

“I urge everyone not to drink and drive,” she said. “Find a ride. Please don’t put another family through this torture.”