Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s sobriety as they were tragically killed while riding their bicycles along a New Jersey road should be irrelevant in the ongoing trial against the alleged driver who hit them, prosecutors argue.
The Gaudreau brothers were allegedly slain by Sean Higgins on August 29, who was drunk at the time of the collision. Higgins had a BAC of 0.087.
Johnny’s blood alcohol content was 0.129, while Matthew’s was 0.134, per filings from Higgins’ defense lawyers.
Now, New Jersey prosecutors want that information not used in the case where Higgins will be tried for aggravated manslaughter, per the New York Post.
Salem County [New Jersey] assistant prosecutor Michael Mestern said in a court filing that how much the Gaudreau brothers had to drink did not matter due to them properly following the rules of the road.
Multiple witnesses told police that the actions of Higgins alone caused the crash. They also claim he was halfway on the road and also on the grass when he made contact with the brothers.
Prosecutors argue Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s blood alcohol content should not matter
The Gaudreaus were allegedly slain by Sean Higgins on August 29, who was drunk at the time
The aggravated assault charge could place Higgins in jail for more than 20 years if he is guilty
The Gaudreau brothers were tragically killed the day before their sister’s wedding, leading to the nuptials being postponed.
Higgins stated after the incident that he was trying to pass the car in front of him on the right before making contact with the brothers. The 44-year-old has maintained that he never saw the Gaudreaus before allegedly hitting them.
Higgins stated he drank five or six beers, including two in his Jeep, before the crash, prosecutors said in the filing.
The defense attorneys counter-argued that leaving out the Gaudreau brothers’ BAC levels is ‘premature’ for the case.
Higgins’ attorneys, Richard Klineburger and Matthew Portella, did not want to divulge more information due to their ‘trial strategy’ outside of the duo did not want to rule out the BAC levels due to ‘accident reconstruction’.
The aggravated assault charge could place Higgins in jail for more than 20 years if he is found guilty.
