Sean Higgins pleads not guilty in the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau

Sean Higgins, the man charged in the deaths of National Hockey League star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, has pleaded not guilty to all charges related to the drunken driving accident. Salem County Prosecutors say they were killed.

The 43-year-old man was charged last month with two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular manslaughter, 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.

At a court hearing Tuesday, prosecutors laid out the details of an initial plea deal offered to Higgins. In exchange for pleading guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal car accident, the state would recommend a 35-year sentence. Prosecutors said Higgins would have to serve 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole, and would recommend pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated at sentencing.

According to prosecutors, Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were riding bicycles in Oldmans Township around 8 p.m. on August 29 when Higgins swerved in front of another car in an attempt to pass, striking the two. brothers, who were scheduled to take part in their sister’s wedding the next day.

Higgins didn’t stop, prosecutors say, and moved on to another car. The two drivers Higgins passed stopped, He called 911 and tried to help the Gaudreaus, according to court documents.

Higgins’ car broke down approximately 1/10 of a mile from the crash site.

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 finished his work day around 3 p.m. and had five to six beers. He said that while he was driving, about two hours before the accident, he had had two more beers. Higgins admitted trying to hide the cans after hitting 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 subsequently published in newspaper reports Show Higgins struggling with instructions during a field sobriety test. Higgins’ blood alcohol content was 0.087, prosecutors said; A blood alcohol content of 0.08 is the legal threshold for intoxication in New Jersey.

Higgins has been held at the Salem County Correctional Facility since the accident despite his attorneys’ efforts to establish their client as a “model citizen.”

Higgins is a Graduate of Drexel University who worked in finance at Gaudenzia, an addiction services provider in Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army National Guard in New Jersey, served as an officer in Kosovo, and participated in combat in Iraq. The latter left him traumatized, his lawyers Matthew Portella and Richard Klineburger said at a court hearing in September.

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 Columbus Blue Jackets. Their deaths shook the hockey world and spawned a plethora of memorials. When USA Hockey won its second consecutive gold medal at the World Junior Championships on Sunday, the team He dedicated the victory to the Gaudreau brothers.