Driver charged in crash that killed Blue Jackets Johnny Gaudreau appears at Tuesday hearing
The driver accused of hitting and killing Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother with his Jeep appeared Tuesday afternoon in a New Jersey courtroom.
Sean Higgins, 44, had a pre-trial conference in Salem County. He faces six criminal counts, including reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter in the brothers' Aug. 29 deaths.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother Matthew, 29, died after they were struck from behind by a Jeep driven by Higgins, according to police. The brothers had been in their hometown for their sister's wedding. They were bicycling around 8 p.m. in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, when a Jeep went around another vehicle in front of it onto the right shoulder and struck them.
New Jersey State Police identified Higgins as the driver. Body camera video from Higgins' arrest shows him performing field sobriety tests and admitting to consuming beers before and while driving. Prosecutors said Higgins' blood alcohol level was registered at .087 , above the legal limit.
Tuesday's hearing focused on the legal issues that Higgins' defense team plans to raise in an effort to have some or all of the charges dismissed. Attorneys Richard Klineburger and Matthew Portello, who are representing Higgins, filed an application Tuesday to file a motion to dismiss the indictment against Higgins.
Higgins' attorneys also filed a request to get information about plea offers made to other defendants in similar cases. In the filing, Higgins' attorneys say the publicity surrounding the Gaudreau case has led to prosecutors "improperly enhancing" the amount of prison time they would be seeking for Higgins, which they called "greatly out of range."
At a hearing in January, prosecutors offered to allow Higgins to plead guilty to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The plea would have resulted in a recommended prison sentence of 15 years for each of the aggravated manslaughter charges and five years for the leaving the scene charge for a total of 35 years in prison.
Court records and documents released by New Jersey police said witnesses described Higgins as driving aggressively and speeding, approaching a vehicle in front of him and then falling back to speed back up on the vehicle again.
Prosecutors said at a previous hearing, Higgins drove around one vehicle to the left, and when another vehicle moved to the left to make room for the brothers, Higgins went around that vehicle on the right and struck the brothers.
Court records say Higgins told police he didn't see the brothers on their bicycles.
Higgins' attorneys and prosecutors will next file legal briefs with the judge and a motion hearing is scheduled for March 26. Higgins will remain in custody during that time.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Driver charged in fatal crash that killed Johnny Gaudreau due in court
