Prosecutors in the case against the alleged drunk driver who killed Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau have filed a motion to exclude the brothers’ blood-alcohol levels from the trial, while also revealing further details and witness reports from the crash scene.
According to court documents filed on Wednesday and obtained by TMZ, officials at the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey are arguing that the intoxication measurements of late NHL all-star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew are inadmissible as evidence and should not be presented to the jury.
Prosecutors argue that the BAC levels are “irrelevant” to the charges levied against Sean Higgins, the man who has been charged in the Gaudreaus’ deaths.
“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,” authorities stated in the docs.
“The contents of the toxicology reports and the way the brothers were operating their bicycles on the day in question are irrelevant.”
Earlier this year, lawyers for Higgins detailed the Gaudreau brothers’ blood alcohol levels at the time they were struck and killed while cycling near their family home in New Jersey on Aug. 29, 2024.
Higgins allegedly had chugged half a dozen beers before he slammed into the Columbus Blue Jackets forward and his brother in Oldmans Township, where they were set to attend their sister’s wedding.
The driver’s blood alcohol concentration was listed as being 0.087% — which is just over the legal limit of 0.08% — while tests also showed Johnny’s blood alcohol concentration level was 0.129% and Matthew’s level was 0.134%.
Higgins’ attorneys did not argue at the time — and have yet to argue — that the Gaudreau brothers’ blood alcohol levels played any role in the crash and also didn’t allege that the brothers were breaking the law at the time.
Higgins has been charged with six counts that include aggravated manslaughter, reckless vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. He pleaded not guilty to the counts in January.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, the filing also offered more details on the fatal crash.
The outlet reports that minutes after the first 911 call, a New Jersey State Police sergeant found Higgins nearly a half kilometre from the crash site. The same sergeant found the Gaudreaus at the same time that emergency medical personnel arrived and pronounced both brothers dead.
The brothers’ bikes are described as “heavily damaged” in the filing, while court records reportedly indicated Higgins’ Jeep had “severe” damage to the passenger-side bumper cover, fender, headlight and windshield.
Debris from Higgins’ vehicle also was found near the bikes, according to the Dispatch.
The court records state that police could not find “any tire or skid marks to suggest the location of the initial point of impact, indicating there was no attempt by Higgins to brake or avoid the collision,” the outlet reported.
Further, witnesses reportedly told troopers that Higgins’ Jeep had been halfway on the road and halfway in the grass shoulder area when he struck the brothers, who were riding single file with Johnny in front of Matthew.
The next court date in Higgins’ trial is set for April 15, but it’s unclear if there will be a ruling on the prosecutors’ latest motion at that time.