A state judge declined to dismiss an indictment against Sean Higgins, the Salem County man facing criminal charges over an accident that killed an NHL star and his brother.
Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio ruled after a hearing Tuesday that the prosecution could continue to pursue charges over the deaths of Johnny Gaudreau, a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and his brother, Matthew.
Higgins, 44, is accused of driving while intoxicated when he struck Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew, 29, as the brothers bicycled along a rural road in Oldmans Township in August 2024.
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Higgins was passing a vehicle on the right, with his Jeep half on the road’s shoulder and half on grass, when he struck the brothers at high speed, according to the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office.
The hearing in Silvanio’s Salem courtroom was attended by members of the Gaudreau family. Images from a livestream showed Higgins appearing to wipe at tears at one point.
Among other arguments, attorneys for Higgins said the grand jury that indicted their client should have been told the Gaudreau brothers were also intoxicated at the time of the accident.
The defense motion said blood-alcohol levels were 0.129% for Johnny Gaudreau and 0.134% for his brother.
Court records say Higgins had a blood-alcohol level of 0.087 at the time of the crash. The state’s legal limit for intoxication is 0.08.
Assistant Prosecutor Michael Mestern asserted that the brothers’ blood-alcohol levels were not a factor in the accident. He said the Gaudreaus were bicycling correctly — single file, with traffic, and on the road’s shoulder — when they were struck from behind by the Jeep.
At a hearing Tuesday, Mestern said Higgins did not call 911, but instead made calls to other people and tried to get rid of both open and unopened alcoholic beverage containers that were inside his Jeep. He challenged a defense claim that Higgins didn’t know he had hit anyone.
“It’s impossible for someone with a straight face to do that much damage to a vehicle and not know you hit something,” Mestern said.
Silvanio also denied a defense request to obtain records of plea offers in all other Salem County cases of reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter since January 2021.
Attorneys for Higgins — Matthew Portella and Richard Klineburger of Haddonfield — contended that the prosecution’s plea offer was excessive because of the high profile of the case.
Higgins, currently in Salem County Jail, was offered a 35-year prison term in exchange for admitting guilt to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Sean Higgins loses a bid to dismiss indictment over Gaudreau deaths
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