Posted on 08/31/2025 8:48:41 PM PDT by xxqqzz
A year after NHL hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother were struck and killed as they bicycled in Salem County, the case against the man charged in their deaths is continuing in court.
Defense attorneys have filed a string of as-yet unsuccessful motions to dismiss some charges and bar evidence against driver Sean M. Higgins from trial. They will be in court again next month with a bid to suppress statements prosecutors say their client made to police.
Four New Jersey State Police troopers involved in the case are expected to testify during the Sept. 18 hearing, according to statements made in court last week.
As the court case continues, the Gaudreau family has marked poignant milestones, welcomed new babies and worked to ensure the brothers’ legacy lives on.
A family tries to carry on The Gaudreau brothers’ widows sued Higgins in state Superior Court, alleging he was “negligent, careless and reckless” in operating his vehicle and his negligence caused the brothers’ deaths.
The brothers’ estates split a $500,000 settlement with Higgins’ insurance company under a plan that was finalized in February.
The wives were both pregnant at the time of the crash.
Gaudreau family commemorates two hockey brothers of family fun and a 5K marathon The Gaudreau family, standing along with 5k run winners at the Washington Lake Park amphitheater during Gaudreau Family 5K Run, Walk & Family Fun Day in Sewell on Saturday, May 31, 2025.Neil H. Davis | For NJ Advance M
Madeline Gaudreau, Matthew’s widow, announced the birth of the couple’s son, Tripp Matthew, last December.
Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny’s widow, announced that the couple’s third son, Carter Michael Gaudreau, was born April 1.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Bicycling at night with no lights on a busy road.
Sounds like a pair of Darwin Awards to me.
From what I’ve read, the defendant is a real tool.
This incident wasn’t caused by a drunk driver. It was caused by a reckless, irresponsible @sshole.
P.S. — Riding a bicycle while intoxicated isn’t against the law in New Jersey; but the basis of the defense’s argument to dismiss the case was that this information should have been presented to the grand jury that indicted the driver.
Agree with both. Defendant is a tool and not a bright idea to cycle at night on the 10 inch shoulder of a rural highway.
The 0.08% limit he was barely over is not really drunk. When I was a young, drunk driving was usually over 0.15%.
“…suppress statements prosecutors say their client made to police.”
That really makes you wonder.
“The brothers’ estates split a $500,000 settlement with Higgins’ insurance company”
What the hay? Not $20 million or $50 million?
Insurance policies have a contractual ceiling on what they will pay. The higher of a ceiling you want, the higher your premium.
If they want $50 million they will have to get the rest directly from the defendant.
My guess is he doesn't have $50 million.
The defendant probably had a $500K policy. He has some assets in that he has his own lawyers, but they usually only go after that in extreme cases.
You get hit by an Amazon truck and you can maybe get $10 million. If you get hit by some poor black person, you will be lucky to get $50K.
“ Bicycling at night with no lights on a busy road.
Sounds like a pair of Darwin Awards to me.”
They were drunk also.
But the driver was drunk too and as far as I know the brothers did not cycle in to the driver.’s path.
Piker. Joking. Driving drunk is stupid. I was stupid in my youth. One time when I drove home my dad did the dollar bill test. He dropped a dollar bill between my forefinger and my thumb. The idea is to catch it as quickly as possible. I repeatedly caught it at the very tip of the bottom of the bill-the rest of the bill remained above my forefinger and thumb.
I then played the game with my father and mother. They lost every time. The dollar bill test should be the field sobriety test. You beat the arresting officer and he goes to jail.
Gaudreau was Johnny Hockey. A great player with a terrific attitude.
The mad mommies caused that change.
The 0.08% limit he was barely over is not really drunk. When I was a young, drunk driving was usually over 0.15%.
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Let’s not exaggerate for effect here. The legal limit was for a long, long time .1% not .15% The legal limit was never .15%.
Insurance policies have a contractual ceiling on what they will pay.
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And the limit can be busted depending on the behavior of the insurance company during the claim process. Know that. Insurance companies can be uncompromising and dishonest which is why you should not deal with them without a lawyer.
The mad mommies caused that change.
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I take it from the callousness of your comment you are fine with impaired drivers on the road crashing into our sons and daughters and walking away laughing. Well fear not, there are plenty of them on the road, drugs and alcohol have addled the brains of multiple drivers, not to mention emotional dysfunction. As my biology teacher put it “We can teach a monkey to drive, so don’t feel safe out there.”
“P.S. — Riding a bicycle while intoxicated isn’t against the law in New Jersey; but the basis of the defense’s argument to dismiss the case was that this information should have been presented to the grand jury that indicted the driver.”
I can’t believe a competent lawyer would make this argument since it’s a basic fact that grand juries are the bailiwick of the prosecution who has no requirement to present any exculpatory information while seeking an indictment. Trials are the place for such information or motions.
The brothers were riding on the white line.
"The brothers were riding their bikes single-file on the fog line — the solid white line marking the edge of the roadway."
Also, it took the defendant 1,500 feet to finally come to a complete stop.
Higgins’ SUV sustained “significant damage” and came to a stop about 1,500 feet — or more than a quarter of a mile — from the crash scene after the vehicle stalled, prosecutors said.
0.08 is ridiculously low. And no, I’ve never had a DUI, to head off your likely next comment. Nor anyone in the immediate family.
Then we have this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZkYPneYMV8
I’d rather cops focus on real problems on the road, not setting up DUI checkpoints with stupidly low BAC levels as a benchmark.
Right. And idiots texting and driving is also a problem. And bike riders on roads for cars is a problem. And road rage is a problem. I hope this dude who obviously suffered from road rage since he couldn’t speed around whatever he wanted to speed around and chose to pass on the shoulder gets put in prison.
Their father was my nephews ice hockey coach on the traveling team at Hollydale. Johnny was several years younger, but you could see he was something special, even then. Lost two sons two days before his daughters wedding. That’s a lot of grief to take at one time.
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