The New Jersey driver accused of drunkenly fatally mowing down NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew is desperately trying anything to improve his case before heading to trial.
Lawyers for the alleged boozed-up killer motorist, Sean Higgins, asked at a court hearing Monday for seven more weeks to complete further blood lab testing and to compile additional information from an accident-reconstruction expert.
Defense lawyer Richard Klineburger informed the court that there was “additional information that was provided to the accident-reconstruction expert” needed to finish his report and that more testing must be done on Higgins’ blood work after the tragic August 2024 horror.
Both efforts are an attempt to make sure the state’s blood work was accurate — after some controversy — and that prosecutors considered all factors in the accident, the defense said.
Salem County Judge Michael Silvanio told both sides to return Sept. 11 for an afternoon hearing, once all of the new information has been shared between the state and Higgins’ team.
During that hearing, Higgins will have to decide whether to face a jury or try to land a deal with prosecutors, according to his co-counsel, Matthew Portella.
Higgins’ lawyers have spent much of this year trying to get the case tossed, arguing prosecutors’ claims that the 45-year-old Army veteran’s blood-alcohol content was .087 the night of the wreck are inaccurate because their test used an incomplete blood sample, or just Higgins’ plasma — and that his BAC was actually below the legal limit of .08.
But that hail Mary was shot down by Judge Silvanio in May.
“A jury at trial is the ultimate fact-finder and is the best positioned party to weigh conflicting evidence, including expert testimony regarding BAC levels,” the judge said at the time.
But the judge also said Higgins’ team can still seek to hold another hearing if new evidence surfaces and call experts on the validity of the BAC test if or when that’s the case.
It’s been nearly two years since Johnny, 31, and his 29-year-old brother Matthew were fatally struck as they were riding bikes on the side of a road in Oldmans Township while coming back from a rehearsal dinner for their sister before her wedding the next day.
Higgins — who did not appear in court Monday — is accused of fatally striking the brothers as he tried to drunkenly pass a car. He has pleaded not guilty.
Higgins lost a prior attempt to have the case thrown out by claiming that the brothers were drunker than he was at the time of the accident.
The brothers were both married, with Matthew and his wife expecting a baby at the time. Matthew’s wife gave birth to their son about five months after her husband’s death.
Higgins faces up to 72 years in prison if convicted.
