Driver charged with killing Gaudreau brothers had blood-alcohol level over legal limit
CBC
The driver charged with killing NHL 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 in Carneys Point, N.J., 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, N.J., 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 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. ET 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."
WATCH | NHL mourns Johnny Gaudreau's death:
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. ET, 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 80 kilometre-per-hour speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female 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.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
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