According to court documents filed in New Jersey on Tuesday, the driver who is suspected of killing NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew said he is being unfairly persecuted and that the victims of the fatal collision were more intoxicated than he was.
In their request for additional details regarding the testing procedures used when investigators assessed the defendant’s and victims’ blood-alcohol concentrations, Sean Higgins’s 44-year-old attorneys found the startling discovery.
At approximately 8:19 p.m. on August 29 of last year, Johnny Gaudreau, 31, a former player for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames, and his brother Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were killed while riding in Oldsman Township, which is located just outside of Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia.
According to the motion prepared by defense attorneys Richard Klineburger and Matthew Portella, “The State alleges that on or about the time of the incident… Higgins had a blood alcohol concentration (B.A.C.) of.087 while cyclists John Gaudreau had a B.A.C. of.129 and Matthew Gaudreau had a B.A.C. of.134.”
According to state rules, a driver “may be convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor even when your BAC is below 0.08 percent,” but in New Jersey, a blood-alcohol concentration of.008 is considered impaired.
In a separate motion on Tuesday, the defense further asserted that Salem County prosecutors are overcharging Higgins with aggravated manslaughter and reckless vehicular homicide, both of which carry sentences of up to 35 years in prison.
They brought up the 2021 prosecution of David M. Thomas, who was given a seven-year jail sentence after entering a guilty plea to second-degree vehicular manslaughter. According to Higgins’ attorneys, Thomas blew a.156, which is almost twice the legal threshold for being deemed intoxicated.
According to Higgins’ attorneys, Deandra L. Brown Palmer pleaded guilty to killing a cyclist while operating a vehicle with a.22 BAC and was given a seven-year sentence in 2024.
“The State has made an initial plea offer of essentially thirty-five years state prison,” Higgins’ defense team said. “This offer is greatly out of range of other plea offers made in Salem County over the past few years.”
On Wednesday, representatives of the Salem County Prosecutor were not immediately available for comment.