Driver charged in DUI deaths of hockey star and his brother was below legal alcohol limit, lawyers say
A man accused of killing NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother in an alleged drink driving incident was below the legal alcohol limit, his lawyers have claimed.
Gaudreau, 31, and his 29-year-old brother Matthew were killed on August 29, 2024, in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. Officials said they were struck by Sean Higgins’s car while they were cycling and he was trying to pass vehicles ahead of him.
Higgins failed a sobriety test conducted during an investigation into the crash by authorities. However, during a South Jersey court appearance on Tuesday, his lawyers argued that the blood test only examined plasma and not whole blood.
The said the test suggested that his blood alcohol level was .087. They have alleged that the actual figure is .075, which is below the state’s legal limit of .08.
Higgins’s lawyers subsequently demanded that prosecutors present the alleged correct blood alcohol level.
They also asked for the case to be dismissed. Meanwhile however, a plea deal, the details of which remain unclear, has been presented to the state by the lawyers. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 14.
One standard drink is estimated to be 0.6 fluid ounces of pure alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Experts at BAC Track estimate that one standard drink is the equivalent to one 12-ounce beer, one five-ounce glass of wine or one 1.5-ounce shot of distilled spirits.
The NIAAA warns, though, that consuming five drinks for a man or four drinks for a woman, each over a two hour period, is enough to put someone over the limit.
The amount of alcohol needed to reach the legal limit is dependent on a consumer’s age, sex, body type, metabolism and hydration, amongst other factors. However, BAC Track warns that intoxication begins at the first drink, meaning you should never drink and drive, even if you have consumed a small amount of alcohol.
Motorists can still be charged with driving under the influence even if their blood alcohol level is below the legal limit, if authorities believe that their ability to drive is impaired, according to the New Jersey-based Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall.
In body camera footage recorded at the scene of Higgins’s arrest, an officer asked the driver how many drinks he had consumed since noon.
“Since noon today, like, five or six,” Higgins responds, in the footage which was obtained by CBS News Philadelphia.
“Six since noon? Beer or what was it?” the officer asks.
Higgins replies, “Beer, just beer.”
A series of tests was conducted at the site of the crash, with the officer asking Higgins to follow a pen with his eyes. In another, Higgins is asked to take nine heel-to-toe steps before turning around.
Officers only raised the question of how many drinks Higgins had consumed after a third test, which required him to lift a leg into the air and count from 1001 in ascending order.
“1001, 1002, 1003,” Higgins begins. He eventually reached 1006 before pausing.
“I’m sorry, I’m just freaked out,” he says. “Like, what am I supposed to be doing again?”
He reached 1009 in a subsequent count, before admitting that it was “getting hard.”
Currently, Higgins is facing charges of aggravated manslaughter, reckless vehicular homicide, among others, according to court documents seen by NBC Philadelphia.
The documents allege that the Gaudreau brothers were killed while riding their bikes northwards on County Route 551 in Oldmans Township.
Higgins was also heading northwards and entered the southbound lane in order to overtake two vehicles ahead of him. The documents also allege that one of the other vehicles, an SUV, moved to the middle of the road to safely pass the brothers.
It was then that Higgins attempted to pass the SUV and allegedly struck the brothers.
Johnny Gaudreau represented Team USA at several international competitions. He also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames.
Nicknamed “Johnny Hockey,” the athlete played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League and was a seven-time NHL All-Star.
His brother, Matthew, was also a successful hockey player.
Both Gaudreau brothers were honored by the Team USA men’s ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics 2026, with the team displaying jerseys sporting their player numbers on a wall as a tribute after winning the gold medal.
