Attorneys for the driver charged with killing hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother on a New Jersey road have filed a new motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing their client was not legally intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Sean M. Higgins, 45, of Pilesgrove, is accused of being drunk when he hit NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother, Matthew R. Gaudreau, 29, as they bicycled on a rural road in Salem County in 2024.
The brothers died at the scene.
The prosecution said Higgins’ blood alcohol concentration was measured at 0.087%, above the legal limit of 0.08%.
A defense expert’s review of the toxicology report, however, determined that Higgins’ blood alcohol concentration was 0.075%, which is below the legal limit, defense attorney Richard Klineburger III said during a hearing on Tuesday.
The testing that resulted in the blood alcohol concentration number cited by the prosecution was not done on whole blood, the defense said.
“It seems that it was plasma that was tested, not whole blood,” Klineburger said. “Based upon our expert report, that brings the actual BAC reading down to .075.”
Based on that finding, the defense filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on Monday, arguing that the prosecution failed to present “proper evidence” of Higgins’ blood alcohol concentration to the grand jury.
Johnny Gaudreau played 11 seasons in the NHL, while Matthew was a college hockey player and later a coach.
They were killed a day before they were to serve as groomsmen in their sister’s wedding.
Their deaths stunned the hockey world and the South Jersey community where the brothers grew up.
The U.S. men’s Olympic ice hockey team honored the brothers during the Winter Olympic Games in Italy. Several players held up Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey on the ice on Sunday following their gold medal-winning game against Canada.
Higgins was indicted in December 2024 on two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal accident and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence.
He faces 70 years in prison on the charges.
When asked by Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio during Tuesday’s hearing if the motion to dismiss Higgins’ indictment involved all of the counts, Klineburger said it did.
“To err on the side of caution, I filed it as a total motion to dismiss, but it might not apply to everything,” Klineburger said, noting that it was unclear how much the blood alcohol reading may have affected the grand jury’s consideration of other aspects in the case before the indictment.
Assistant Prosecutor Michael Mestern said he still needed to review the defense expert’s finding and discuss it with the experts who conducted the testing.
If the defense expert’s finding is determined to be accurate, the prosecution could re-present the matter to a grand jury, the judge said.
Silvanio said he would allow the prosecution time to review the defense expert’s report before scheduling arguments on the dismissal motion.
“If you come to the determination that, based upon the information presented, that it’s appropriate to re-present the matter to the grand jury with the BAC as reflected in the defense expert report, the court will allow that to happen,” the judge told Mestern.
The defense previously filed several unsuccessful motions to have some charges dismissed, and to have Higgins’ statements to police and some evidence in the case barred from trial.
Higgins previously rejected a plea offer that would have sent him to prison for 35 years.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the defense attorneys said they presented a counter plea offer to the prosecution, though the terms of that offer were not disclosed in open court.
The defense also said it needs additional evidence from the prosecution in order to complete its accident reconstruction report.
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for April 14.
On the night of the crash, Higgins was driving north on Route 551/Pennsville-Auburn Road in Oldmans around 8:15 p.m. when he tried to pass vehicles in front of him, according to prosecutors.
He tried to illegally pass an SUV on the right and struck the Gaudreaus, prosecutors said. The brothers were riding their bikes single-file on the solid white line marking the edge of the roadway, according to witnesses.
Those witnesses described Higgins’ driving as erratic and reckless, and said his vehicle was partially on the grass when he hit the men.
Higgins’ Jeep sustained “significant damage” and came to a stop about 1,500 feet — or more than a quarter of a mile — from the crash scene after the vehicle stalled, prosecutors said.
While the prosecution argued Higgins tried to leave the scene and could have stopped his vehicle sooner if he wished, his lawyers said he wasn’t trying to flee.
Higgins was arrested after he failed a field sobriety test.
He admitted drinking several beers before the crash, according to police.
During an interview with police, he said it was his impatience and reckless driving that caused the crash.
Higgins, who works for a substance abuse treatment network based in Pennsylvania, remains jailed pending the outcome of his case.