Judge extends the time to indict the driver accused of killing Johnny Gaudreau and his brother
A New Jersey judge has granted prosecutors a 30-day extension in which to bring formal charges against the driver accused of killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, while they were cycling in August
SALEM, N.J. (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, as they were cycling on a rural New Jersey road briefly appeared in court Tuesday, where the judge extended the window for prosecutors to seek an indictment.
The brief hearing, in which the judge granted prosecutors 30 additional days in which to seek formal charges in the Gaudreaus' Aug. 29 deaths, marked the first time the Gaudreau family and the 44-year-old defendant, Sean M. Higgins, faced one another in court. Previously, Higgins appeared at hearings via video from behind bars.
Authorities say Higgins, who is from Woodstown, in southwestern New Jersey, was impaired after he drank five or six beers on the day he drove into the brothers' bicycles, and that he has a history of road rage and aggressive driving.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were killed near their childhood home in South Jersey on the eve of their sister's wedding. The family, including their father, Guy Gaudreau, declined to comment on the case Tuesday at the Salem County Courthouse.
