Judge rejects defense that Gaudreau brothers contributed to their deaths by cycling while impaired

SALEM, N.J. (AP) — The family of NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew listened in pain Tuesday as lawyers debated whether the men's own drinking contributed to their deaths when they were hit by an allegedly drunken and enraged driver as they cycled at night.

After nearly two hours of argument, a judge agreed the issue was moot under New Jersey criminal law — upholding all of the charges against the driver, including manslaughter and vehicular homicide.

“There’s no credence in the argument there was contributory negligence on the part of the cyclists,” said Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio.

According to the defense, the Gaudreaus had blood-alcohol levels of .129 or above, higher than the .08 legal limit in New Jersey and the .087 blood alcohol content that police recorded for Sean Higgins. His lawyers had hoped to have the manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges reduced or dismissed.

“To say that their BAC’s may have contributed to the cause of death is a reach to say the least,” Assistant Prosecutor Michael Mestern argued.

Other drivers told police the brothers were riding safely on the edge of the road, not weaving into traffic, he said. Prosecutors have accused Higgins of being impaired by alcohol and fueled by road rage when he ran into them.

“There are four witnesses that witnessed the defendant speeding and illegally passing the Bronco on the right when he struck the brothers. The witnesses also saw the brothers riding single file, with the flow of traffic, on the fog line just prior to being struck by the defendant,” Mestern wrote in a memo this month.

The Gaudreaus were bicycling near their hometown in southern New Jersey on the eve of their sister’s wedding on Aug. 29. Both of their wives have since given birth to sons. Johnny Gaudreau's widow, Meredith, gave birth to their third child on April 1. The sister's wedding was postponed until this summer.

Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” was set to start his third season with the Columbus Blue Jackets after eight seasons with the Calgary Flames. Matthew played hockey at Boston College, like his older brother, and was working as a high school coach.

Higgins, 44, of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts each of reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter, along with evidence tampering and leaving the scene of an accident. He was found beside his damaged vehicle, which had stalled about a quarter mile from the crash scene.

A combat veteran and married father of two who worked for an addiction treatment company, Higgins told police he had consumed about a half-dozen beers that day, some while driving, after an upsetting phone call with his mother.

Higgins' lawyers — while also noting that the Gaudreaus were cycling without lights after dark — said they were not trying to cast blame or contribute to the family's pain, but only give their client a robust defense.

“Mr. (Richard) Klineburger and I are not blaming the two bicyclists for the incident. That would be ridiculous. That would be wrong,” lawyer Matthew Portella said as the Gaudreaus' parents and sisters grimaced.

Portella instead argued that the grand jury did not hear all of the facts before it approved charges that allege Higgins was intentionally reckless and left the scene.

Mestern called the indictment sound and the judge agreed, sending the charges to trial and scheduling the next hearing for June 10.

Higgins faces a maximum 70 years in prison if convicted on all counts. His lawyers have rejected a plea offer of 35 years.

The county courthouse in Salem, N.J., is seen Tuesday, April 15, 2025 before the appearance of Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they were bicycling. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they were bicycling, appears at the Salem County, N.J., Courthouse, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Salem, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio speaks during Sean M. Higgins' trial, at the county courthouse in Salem, N.J., Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Attorneys for Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they were bicycling, speak at the Salem County, N.J., Courthouse, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Salem, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road, appears at the county courthouse in Salem, N.J., Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they were bicycling, appears at the Salem County, N.J., Courthouse, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Salem, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they were bicycling, appears at the Salem County, N.J., Courthouse, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Salem, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they were bicycling, appears at the Salem County, N.J., Courthouse, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Salem, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they were bicycling, sits in the Salem County, N.J., Courthouse, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Salem, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they were bicycling, appears at the Salem County, N.J., Courthouse, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Salem, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FILE - Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau's family watches a #13 banner being raised during a ceremony before the start of an NHL hockey game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers. Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

FILE - Quinnipiac goalie Michael Garteig (34) makes the save on a shot by Boston College forward Matthew Gaudreau (21) during the first period of an NCAA Frozen Four semifinal NCAA college hockey game, April 7, 2016, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

FILE - Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road, appears at the county courthouse in Salem, N.J., Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau plays during an NHL hockey game, Jan. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)