The man who struck and killed and hoped the brothers were still alive after the fatal crash.
In body cam footage released by the New Jersey State Police, — who hit Johnny, 31, a star with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, and Matthew, 29, with his Jeep when the brothers were riding bicycles in Oldmans Township, N.J. on August 29 — can be seen and heard in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
“Is everybody OK back there?” Higgins asked an officer. “I mean, what happened?”
Before leading Higgins to a police vehicle, the officer told him, “We’ll talk about that when we get to the station.”’
The footage shows Higgins admitting to the officers that he had been drinking before the crash and was driving home from a nearby Taco Bell.
“I mean, I’ve been drinking beers, but I haven’t had one in like two hours,” Higgins said. “Since the accident, probably an hour or so.”
The officers told Higgins they needed to perform a field sobriety test and asked if he had been injured in the accident.
“I’m just freaked out,” Higgins replied.
As he attempted to perform the sobriety tests, Higgins told the officers, “I’m sorry. I’m just freaked out. What am I supposed to be doing again?”
“You said it’s been about an hour since your last drink?” one of the officers asked Higgins.
Higgins admitted to having “five or six” Miller Lites since noon.
After the sobriety test, Higgins was handcuffed, read his rights and transported to the police station. His blood-alcohol level was later revealed to be .087 — over the .08 legal limit.
Higgins was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.
He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The Salem County Sheriff’s Office also released 911 audio from the night the Gaudreau brothers were killed.
“I just witnessed a hit and run of two people on bikes,” one caller told the dispatcher. The caller later corrected the statement, saying the driver had pulled over to the side of the road.
The dispatcher asked, “Is anybody hurt?”
“Yes, they are both on the ground,” the caller said.
When asked about the conditions of the victims, the caller said, “It’s dark, we can’t see.”
Higgins last appeared in court on November 12 during a hearing at which members of the Gaudreau family were present.
During the proceedings, a 30-day extension was granted to the state prosecution to file an indictment against Higgins.
