COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A New Jersey judge will hear arguments next week over whether the blood alcohol levels of the Gaudreau brothers are relevant in the case against the drunk driver who struck and killed them.
Attorneys for Sean Higgins, the man charged in the accident last August that killed Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, argued that their client got an unfair plea deal, and part of their argument included evidence that the Gaudreaus had higher blood alcohol levels than Higgins did.
In response, prosecutors filed a motion to preclude that evidence as irrelevant, as the brothers were bicycling along the side of a two-lane road after sunset when they were struck from behind by Higgins. Judge Michael Silvanio will hear arguments on Tuesday in Salem, New Jersey, near the accident site.
Higgins, 44, was driving with a reported blood alcohol level of 0.087 when a car in front of him drifted left of center to give the brothers clearance. Higgins attempted to pass to the right and struck the two. Johnny Gaudreau, 31, was one of the Blue Jackets' leaders in points the two seasons before he was killed, and he left behind a pregnant wife, Meredith, and two other children. Their third child was born this month, and the family continues to live in the Columbus area.
The prosecution’s offer included a guilty plea by Higgins of two counts of aggravated manslaughter for a recommended sentence of 15 years on each, of which he would have to serve at least 25 1/2 years. For leaving the scene of a fatal accident, the state would have recommended a five-year sentence to be served consecutively.
The defense rejected that deal in December before arguing in February that Higgins received an unfair offer that was “greatly out of the range of other plea offers made in Salem County over the past few years” from other vehicular homicide cases. A second filing was then submitted to show the blood alcohol levels of Johnny (0.129) and Matthew (0.134), and in March, Higgins' defense council moved for a dismissal.
The motion from prosecutors states “no actions or decisions attributable to Matthew or John led to their deaths on the night in question” and that “multiple witness accounts show that it was the defendant’s actions and his actions alone that caused the collision that led to Matthew and John Gaudreau’s deaths.” You can read the motion in full below.
higgins-sean-motion-limini-redactedDownloadThe motion includes statements from witnesses that the brothers were riding single file along the fog line of the road and that Higgins’ vehicle allegedly swerved beyond the line and partially into the grass, with damage to the vehicle on the passenger's side. The motion also notes that Higgins told police he was driving 30-40 mph but that the driver of the car being passed said she was driving about 55 mph.
Prosecutors noted that Higgins, of Woodstown, New Jersey, was at the scene of the crash when police arrived but that he reportedly attempted to discard evidence after he got out of his car, which stopped about a quarter-mile past the crash scene.
Higgins was remanded in September after a judge ruled he would remain in custody without bond. On Nov. 12 a pre-indictment conference took place and an extension was given to allow the sides to possibly reach a plea agreement. Higgins, who worked at a drug and alcohol treatment center, was indicted on Dec. 11 after a grand jury submitted charges of two counts of reckless vehicular homicide, two counts of aggravated manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
The brothers were in New Jersey for the wedding of their sister, Katie, and were buried on Sept. 9 in Philadelphia, where Johnny’s wife, Meredith, revealed she was pregnant.
Matthew’s wife also was pregnant when he was killed and has since given birth.
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