Man charged in deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau pleads not guilty
Prosecutors offered a plea deal recommending 35 years in prison.
Sean Higgins, the man charged in the deaths of National Hockey League star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, pleaded not guilty to all charges in connection with the drunken-driving crash Salem County prosecutors say killed them.
The 43-year-old was indicted last month on two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, one count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, and one count of tampering with physical evidence in the August crash.
In a court hearing Tuesday, prosecutors laid out the details of an initial plea agreement offered to Higgins. In exchange for pleading guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal motor accident, the state would recommend a 35-year sentence. Prosecutors said Higgins would have to serve 85% of the sentence before he would be eligible for parole, and they would recommend a plea to driving while intoxicated at sentencing.
According to prosecutors, Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were biking in Oldmans Township about 8 p.m. on Aug. 29 when Higgins swerved in front of another car in an attempt to pass, striking the brothers, who were slated to take part in their sister’s wedding the next day.
Higgins did not stop, prosecutors say, and passed another car. The two drivers Higgins passed pulled over, called 911, and attempted to help the Gaudreaus, according to court filings.
Higgins’ car broke down about 1/10 of a mile from the scene of the crash.
According to New Jersey State Police, Higgins’ statements were “internally inconsistent and contradicted the statements” of the other two drivers.
According to charging documents, Higgins told authorities he had wrapped up his workday around 3 p.m. and went on to have five to six beers. He said while driving around — about two hours before the crash — he’d had another two beers. Higgins admitted to trying to hide the cans after he hit the cyclists.
“I get impatient, I had beer in my system, now my life is ruined … That’s literally what this is all about,” he told authorities. “My impatience and my reckless driving.”
Police body-camera footage obtained through an open-records request and later published in news reports show Higgins struggling with instructions during a field sobriety test. Higgins’ blood-alcohol content came back 0.087, prosecutors said; a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 is the legal threshold for intoxication in New Jersey.
Higgins has been held in the Salem County Correctional Facility since the crash despite his attorneys’ efforts to establish their client as a “model citizen.”
Higgins is a Drexel University graduate who worked in finance at Gaudenzia, an addiction services provider in Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army National Guard in New Jersey, acting as an officer in Kosovo and seeing combat in Iraq. The latter left him traumatized, his attorneys Matthew Portella and Richard Klineburger said in a September court hearing.
Higgins remains in custody pending trial.
The Gaudreau brothers were both accomplished hockey players who attended Boston College. Matthew later played in the minor leagues and coached youth teams while his brother, nicknamed “Johnny Hockey,” went on to play for the Calgary Flames and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Their deaths shook the hockey world, leading to a slew of memorials. When USA Hockey won its second consecutive World Junior Championships gold medal Sunday, the team dedicated the win to the Gaudreau brothers.