Where does case stand against driver accused of hitting Johnny, Matthew Gaudreau?
Six months after star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed while bicycling on a New Jersey road, the Columbus Blue Jackets will take the ice at Ohio Stadium for the franchise's first-ever outdoor game.
The man accused of hitting the brothers while driving under the influence remains in a New Jersey jail. His next court date is scheduled for April 15.
Sean Higgins, 44, faces six criminal charges, including reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter in the Aug. 29 deaths of Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29. He rejected a plea offer in January that would have resulted in a 35-year prison sentence.
Court records say Higgins' blood alcohol level was measured at 0.087, over the legal limit , after the crash. Body camera video released by New Jersey State Police shows him telling troopers that he drank multiple beers both before and while driving.
Related Gaudreau brothers article: Defense attorneys say Gaudreau brothers were drunk at time of fatal crash
Higgins is accused of striking the brothers, who were bicycling on a country road in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, around 8 p.m. on Aug. 29. Higgins told troopers he didn't see the brothers, court records say.
Witnesses told state police Higgins was speeding and driving aggressively before the crash, Salem County prosecutors and court records say. Higgins passed a car on the left, and when another vehicle moved to the left to make room for the brothers, Higgins accelerated to the right, hitting the Gaudreaus, court records say.
A crash report released by New Jersey State Police indicates the brothers were likely riding single file, with Johnny riding ahead of Matthew. The impact threw both men from their bicycles, and they died at the scene.
Johnny and Matthew were in town to attend the wedding of their sister , which was scheduled to occur the next day. The brothers were both groomsmen in the wedding.
Higgins stopped a short distance away from the crash, where troopers had him perform field sobriety tests before taking Higgins into custody.
What's next for driver accused of hitting Gaudreau brothers?
A hearing will be held in April to review motions filed by Higgins's attorneys. Those motions are expected to include a request to have the case dismissed and a request to dismiss certain charges if the judge rules the case should move forward.
Salem County Judge Michael Silvanio had told attorneys representing Higgins to file any briefs in support of motions they intended to file by Tuesday. Copies of those briefs were not posted as of Thursday morning to a New Jersey courts website where other documents in the case have been made public.
The initial motion hearing was scheduled for March, however, that date was moved to April 15. The deadline for motions to be filed was also moved.
Salem County prosecutors will have several weeks to file responses after Higgins' attorneys complete their filings.
Higgins' attorneys filed, and then withdrew on the same day, a motion in early February alleging both Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau had been drinking prior to the crash. The motion requested information about how blood tests were conducted.
The court documents filed with the motion say Johnny's blood alcohol level tested at 0.129 and Matthew's tested at 0.134, both over the legal level of intoxication, following the crash.
New Jersey law does not have a legal alcohol limit for operating a manual bicycle, which both brothers were doing at the time they were struck.
How have the Blue Jackets honored Johnny Gaudreau during the season?
The Blue Jackets held a ceremony before their first home game of the season in October, honoring the Gaudreau brothers. That ceremony was attended by Guy and Jane Gaudreau, as well as the brothers' sisters, Katie and Kristen, and Johnny's wife, Meredith and the couple's two young children, Noa and Johnny Jr.
The ceremony included a banner with Johnny Gaudreau's jersey number 13 raised to the Nationwide Arena rafters and a video tribute featuring photographs and video clips of the brothers as hockey players and in their private lives.
The team has had a "13" patch on their jerseys for all games this season and has taken Johnny's jersey with them on road trips, keeping his locker room stall intact during every game.
The Blue Jackets also changed their traditional "kepi," given by a player to another player who excelled during a team win, to a donkey cap with a 13 patch . The switch was done to honor Johnny Gaudreau, who was known for calling people "donkeys."
During the Blue Jackets game against the Calgary Flames in the Scotiabank Saddledome, where Johnny Gaudreau played for nine seasons before coming to Columbus, another ceremony was held , again attended by the Gaudreau family. A ceremonial puck drop took place with both teams.
Following that game, the Flames named Johnny Gaudreau the first star of the game and Guy Gaudreau joined Rasmus Andersson and Mikael Backlund on the ice as Johnny's goal song, "Johnny B. Goode," played in the arena.
How is the Gaudreau family doing after double tragedy?
The Gaudreau family has been involved in several events at both NHL and college hockey games in Columbus, Calgary, Philadelphia, Boston and Las Vegas. The brothers have been memorialized in a number of ways, from patches and board memorials at Boston College, where they played together, to a banner honoring Johnny in Nationwide Arena.
In Calgary, where fans brought hundreds of hockey sticks and stuffed animals to a memorial outside the Flames' stadium, benches were created using those sticks and the toys donated to charities around the city.
Guy Gaudreau has also been invited to and participated in practices for the Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and Team USA during the 4 Nations Face-Off .
Jane Gaudreau attended the Blue Jackets mom's trip , photographs from the Blue Jackets' social media feed show.
Matthew Gaudreau's wife, Madeline, gave birth to the couple's son, Tripp Matthew, in late December. She announced his birth on social media on the four-month anniversary of her husband's passing.
Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny's wife, is pregnant with the couple's third child and is due to give birth this spring. She and the couple's two young children, Noa, who turned 2 in September 2024 , and Johnny, who turned 1 in February, have continued to live in Columbus and attend Blue Jackets games.
During a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 22, Johnny Jr.'s first birthday, the crowd at Nationwide Arena serenaded the toddler with "Happy Birthday." The following day, photographs on social media showed a party which many Blue Jackets members attended, including Captain Boone Jenner, who donned a duck costume .
Memorials for the brothers will also be included during Saturday's Stadium Series game between the Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Six months later, here's the latest on Johnny, Matthew Gaudreau case
