Driver charged with killing NHL's Johnny Gaudreau and his brother had .087 blood-alcohol level

PHILADELPHIA -

The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.

Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed near their childhood home in South Jersey on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.

The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.

“'You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,'” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.

The defence described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the 8:19 p.m. crash.

“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defence lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”

Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.

He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the driver told police.

When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.

“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins' admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.

This image released by the Salem County, N.J., Correctional Facility shows Sean M. Higgins, charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. (Salem County Correctional Facility via AP)

Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.

Higgins has a master's degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.

Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, US$68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favourite across North America.

Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at a heart-wrenching double funeral on Monday.

“I urge everyone to never drink and drive,” Madeline Gaudreau said. “Call a ride. Please do not put another family through this torture. The loss of Matty and John will leave a hole in the family, with his close friends, the community for eternity.”

Defence lawyers, in seeking bail, suggested that Higgins could be limited to driving only with a locking device to prevent him from drinking and driving. And they noted that he tested just over the legal limit, adding that a recent knee surgery likely impacted the field test.

But Flynn argued that the locking device would not stop what he called “the fundamental issue” of Higgins's “angry and aggressive driving,” exacerbated that day by alcohol.