Johnny Gaudreau’s family watches as man accused of killing NHL star and his brother appears in court

A judge is giving prosecutors more time to seek an indictment of the driver who was allegedly intoxicated when he struck and killed hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother as the men rode bikes along a rural Salem County roadway.
Sean M. Higgins, 43, of Pilesgrove Township, is charged with two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide in the deaths of Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew R. Gaudreau, 29, in August.
Higgins appeared in court Tuesday for what was supposed to be a pre-indictment conference, which is an opportunity for the prosecution and defense to resolve a case before it goes to a grand jury to consider an indictment.
Instead, the judge granted the prosecutions’ request for 30 more days to ask a grand jury to indict Higgins.
Tuesday’s hearing marked the first time Higgins appeared in a physical courtroom for hearing. His previous appearances were all via video from jail, where he remains pending trial.
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s parents attended Tuesday’s hearing with family members and other supporters filling much of the courtroom. Members of Higgins’ family were also in attendance.
Under New Jersey’s Criminal Justice Reform Act, the state has 90 days from the day charges are filed to return an indictment against a defendant. Extensions to that timeline are granted if the state can provide a compelling reason.
The prosecution needs additional time to gather remaining information and evidence in the case from the New Jersey State Police, Salem County First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn told Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio.
“To date, the Autopsy/Toxicology reports for the two victims have not been provided to the State, as the reports have not been finalized,” the prosecutor noted in his motion for the extension, adding that those reports should be available soon.
Higgins’ lawyers agreed with the extension and Silvanio granted the request.
The next step could be either sending the case to the grand jury for possible indictment or reaching a plea agreement with Higgins and his attorneys.
The prosecution has made no plea offer in the case so far, Salem County Prosecutor Kristin Telsey confirmed Tuesday. A plea offer is expected, but it’s not clear when that will happen, she said.
Prosecutors say Higgins was driving northbound on Route 551/Pennsville-Auburn Road in Oldmans Township when he tried to pass vehicles in front of him on Aug. 29.
As he tried to illegally pass an SUV on the right side, he struck the two bicyclists as they traveled on the shoulder of the roadway, according to investigators.
Higgins failed a field sobriety test and was arrested at the scene. He was also issued citations for driving while intoxicated, consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle, having an open alcohol container in a vehicle, improper passing, reckless driving and making an unsafe lane change.
His blood alcohol concentration was measured at 0.087% the day of the crash, attorneys revealed during a September hearing. That’s over the legal limit of 0.08%.
Additional details about what happened on the night of the Aug. 29 crash were revealed in court documents filed last month by the prosecutor’s office in response to a failed bid by the defense to challenge a judge’s September decision to hold Higgins in jail until trial.
Higgins was behind two other vehicles shortly after 8 p.m. as they traveled on Pennsville-Auburn Road at about 55 mph in the 50 mph zone, according to details included in the motion brief from the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office.
The other two drivers said Higgins was driving erratically the day of the crash. He was tailgating, then slowing down, then approaching the vehicle in front of him at a high rate of speed, one driver told police.
That motorist also said the Gaudreaus were riding their bikes on the shoulder “directly atop the fog line and were not in the lane of travel” before the crash.
The shoulder of the roadway is just a few inches wide in the area of the crash.
Just before the crash, Higgins suddenly passed the car on the left at a high rate of speed, the driver told investigators.
The driver of the vehicle in front of Higgins also said the Gaudreaus were riding on the shoulder and she moved partially into the southbound lane to make room as she passed the cyclists.
Higgins allegedly told police he believed the car in front of him pulled into the southbound lane to block him from passing on the left.
The lead driver said she saw Higgins approach her at high speed from behind and pass her on the right side, leaving the roadway in the process, according to the prosecutor’s brief.
“In order to complete the pass, about half of the defendant’s vehicle exited the roadway and was traveling on the grass,” the prosecutor’s office stated in the document. “As the defendant was passing the lead vehicle on the right, the occupants of the vehicle were able to observe the defendant strike the Gaudreau brothers.”
Higgins vehicle sustained “significant damage” when he struck the Gaudreaus and it became inoperable about 1/10 of a mile down the road, the prosecutor’s office said.
The drivers of the other two vehicles stopped, called 911 and tried to help the victims. The brothers were pronounced dead at the scene.
A passing motorists told investigators Higgins appeared to be “freaking out” after the crash, according to the document.
In interviews with police, Higgins claimed the Gaudreaus were riding their bikes in the northbound lane, not the shoulder. That contradicted the statements from the other two drivers, the prosecutor’s office stated.
He also claimed the vehicles in front of him were traveling at 30 mph, contradicting what the other drivers said, and that he passed them at around 40 mph.
Higgins allegedly admitted drinking five or six beers after finishing work the afternoon of the crash and drinking two beers while driving around for two hours prior to the crash, according to the prosecutor’s brief.
He also allegedly admitted trying to hide beer cans after hitting the Gaudreaus, prosecutors said.
Higgins attributed the crash to his drinking and temper.
“I get impatient, I had beer in my system, now my life is ruined,” he allegedly told investigators. “That’s literally what this is all about. My impatience and reckless driving.”
Higgins failed a field sobriety test and was arrested at the scene. He was also issued citations for driving while intoxicated, consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle, having an open alcohol container in a vehicle, improper passing, reckless driving and making an unsafe lane change.
He faces up to 10 years in prison on each death by auto count.
Higgins is a major in the New Jersey Army National Guard and works for a substance abuse treatment network based in Pennsylvania.
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau grew up in Salem County and their parents live a few miles from where the crash occurred. The brothers were supposed to serve as groomsmen in their sister’s wedding the following day.
Johnny Gaudreau was a winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets and previously played for the Calgary Flames, while Matthew shifted from playing professional hockey to coaching hockey at the brothers’ alma matter, Gloucester Catholic High School.
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Matt Gray may be reached at [email protected].