A New Jersey man accused of killing NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother in a drunk driving crash is fighting back, with his lawyers pushing to get the charges thrown out.
Sean M. Higgins, 44, turned down a 35-year prison deal last month. He’s facing serious charges after allegedly hitting the Gaudreau brothers while they were biking in Salem County last August.
Now his defense team is raising questions about blood alcohol testing from that night.
Court documents show Johnny Gaudreau had a blood alcohol level of 0.129% and his brother Matthew tested at 0.134%. Higgins himself tested at 0.087%, just above the legal limit.
But there’s a twist – while the defense wants more details about how those tests were done, they’re not claiming the brothers’ drinking had anything to do with the crash.
“We need to make sure our client isn’t being treated unfairly just because this is a high-profile case,” said defense attorneys Richard F. Klineburger III and Matthew V. Portella.
What actually happened that night? Prosecutors say Higgins was driving like a madman on Route 551 when he tried to pass an SUV by using the shoulder – that’s where he struck the Gaudreau brothers on their bikes.
It gets worse. Higgins, a major in the National Guard who ironically works for a substance abuse treatment network, allegedly admitted to heavy drinking before the crash. Police say he even tried to hide his beer cans.
He failed a sobriety test right there at the scene.
The charges against him are hefty:
– Two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter
– Two counts of vehicular homicide
– Leaving the scene of a fatal accident
– Tampering with evidence
He’s also facing a bunch of traffic violations, including DWI and reckless driving.
His defense team isn’t just stopping at questioning the blood tests. They’re planning to challenge his indictment, claiming the grand jury didn’t get all the evidence that might have helped their client.
They also want to keep several pieces of evidence out of the trial, including Higgins’ own blood alcohol results and statements he made to police.
The 35-year deal he rejected? His lawyers say that’s way higher than similar cases – they think it’s only that steep because one of the victims was an NHL star.
