Bodycam video shows 'freaked out' driver moments after the crash that killed the Gaudreau brothers

Max Marin, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec 7, 2024

Published in Hockey

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PHILADELPHIA — The New Jersey driver charged with hitting and killing National Hockey League hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, struggled to perform a field sobriety test and told officers he was “freaked out” by the situation, according to newly released bodycam footage.

The footage, obtained though an open-records request and published in news reports Friday, offers the most direct account of the moments after the Gaudreau brothers were struck while riding bicycles on Aug. 29 in Oldsman Township. It also offers new details about the story provided by Sean Higgins, 44, the alleged drunk driver who faces two counts of death by auto and related offenses in an internationally watched case.

Throughout nearly 10 minutes of footage, Higgins, wearing shorts and flip-flop sandals, can be seen answering questions and performing a field sobriety test for state troopers near the crash site on Pennsville Auburn Road before his arrest. When the video begins at 8:42 p.m., the Salem County man confesses to drinking beers around an hour before the accident.

“I’ve been drinking beers,” Higgins told police.

He left his home that evening and went to Taco Bell in Pennsville, he told officers while smoking a cigarette. “I’m gonna run you through a few tests,” a state trooper responded. “Put that cigarette out.”

During the walking portion of his sobriety test, Higgins groaned in pain when he attempted to walk straight, saying he had knee surgery days prior to the crash. “I’m gimping around,” he said.

Higgins then attempted to count aloud for troopers, but struggled with the instructions. “I’m sorry, I’m just freaked out,” he said. “What am I supposed to be doing again?

A trooper later asked Higgins again to clarify how much he drank that evening.

“I mean, since like noon today, five or six” beers, Higgins said.

As one trooper audibly sighed, police ordered the driver to turn around, placed him in handcuffs, and read him his Miranda rights. A wide-eyed and apparently confused Higgins then inquired about the crash.

“Is everybody OK back there? I mean, what happened?” he asked.

“We’ll talk about that when we get to the station,” a trooper responded.

Police later said Higgins’ blood-alcohol content was 0.087 that night; the legal limit in New Jersey is 0.08.

An hour before the video was taken, the Gaudreau brothers were biking on County Route 551, enjoying the summer weather before they would appear as groomsmen in their sister’s wedding the next day.

The lifelong hockey players were back home in their native Salem County for the celebration. As the brothers biked next to a cornfield that evening, the driver who was in front of Higgins attempted to slow down and move left around the cyclists, at which point Higgins sped up and attempted to pass her on the right, striking the two men from behind with his Jeep Grand Cherokee.

According to 911 call audio obtained by NJ.com, motorists who called to report the crash struggled to locate the men on the dark road.

Both Gaudreau brothers played at Boston College. Matthew went on to play in the minor leagues and coach youth teams. Johnny, who went by the nickname “Johnny Hockey,” joined the majors, playing eight seasons with the Calgary Flames and two with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was widely considered one of the league’s stars.

Higgins is a Drexel University graduate and an officer in the Army National Guard who, prior to the crash, worked at an addiction services provider in Pennsylvania. A New Jersey judge in September ordered Higgins to remain behind bars until his trial, expressing concerns about his road-rage and his potential suicide risk.

The maximum sentence he could receive is 20 years in prison.