Judge allows driver's admission he hid beer cans after killing Jackets' Gaudreau, brother

A New Jersey judge has ruled that prosecutors can use at trial statements made by the driver to state troopers after he fatally struck Columbus Blue Jackets  forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, while they were bicycling in August 2024.

Attorneys representing Sean Higgins, 44, during a Nov. 10 hearing asked Salem County Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio  to bar potential jurors from hearing statements Higgins made on the night of the crash , both at the scene and in an interview after. Higgins' defense says New Jersey State Troopers did not provide a proper Miranda warning. 

Higgins is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter and several other charges in the Aug. 29, 2024, crash that occurred while the Gaudreau brothers were bicycling to see a friend the day before their sister's scheduled wedding. They were both pronounced dead at the scene. 

A trial date for Higgins has not been scheduled as of Nov. 10.

Higgins' attorneys argued that troopers should have read Higgins his rights before speaking to him at the scene, and that when Higgins asked if he should have a lawyer in an interview after his arrest, the questioning by state troopers should have stopped.

Higgins struck the Gaudreau brothers, who were riding bikes, while trying to pass two slow-moving vehicles. As Higgins tried to pass, one of the vehicles moved to the left, and Higgins moved to the right to pass that vehicle, striking the two brothers.

Higgins received his Miranda warning when he was arrested after a field sobriety test.

During an interview with state troopers after the crash and his arrest, Higgins said he tried to call 911, but the call wouldn't connect. He admitted to drinking beer while driving and said he threw the empty cans into a cornfield where his car came to a stop about a quarter mile from the crash.

When troopers asked Higgins if they could look at his cell phone to verify he attempted to call 911, he asked if he should have a lawyer and said, "I feel like I need a lawyer."

However, Higgins continued talking to the troopers. Within minutes, the troopers re-read Higgins his rights, and Higgins again acknowledged his rights and signed a card saying he understood.

Judge Silvanio said troopers did not need to read Higgins his Miranda rights when they spoke to him at the scene before the arrest because the encounters were brief. The troopers were trying to determine what happened in the crash, not to question him with the intent to file criminal charges.

Silvanio said Higgins freely and voluntarily talked to troopers at the roadside, and those statements were admissible in court.

Silvanio also said that when Higgins asked the troopers if he needed a lawyer during the interview, he was not actually requesting an attorney. Therefore, the statements he made afterward are admissible in court, Silvanio said.

Public Safety and Breaking News Reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com .

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Judge will allow statements made by driver in Johnny Gaudreau's death