Judge Upholds Charges in Gaudreau Brothers' Deaths

Defense lawyers for the man charged with drunken driving in the deaths of pro hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew put the focus on the brothers' own drinking before the crash in a hearing Tuesday. A New Jersey judge, however, rejected the argument that the brothers contributed to their own deaths by cycling while impaired and upheld all the charges against driver Sean Higgins, including manslaughter and vehicular homicide, the AP reports. "There's no credence in the argument there was contributory negligence on the part of the cyclists," said Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio.

• "I'm not saying it's the cause of death," said Richard Klineburger III, an attorney defending driver Higgins. "But I don't know what impact it had, if any." He is seeking more information from lab tests.
• The defense says the Gaudreaus had blood-alcohol levels of .129 or higher when they were bicycling on the side of a rural road in New Jersey. That would put them over the limit for driving a car, but New Jersey does not have a similar limit for bicyclists, notes the Columbus Dispatch. (Johnny Gaudreau played for the city's Blue Jackets in the NHL.)

• Their drinking is irrelevant, countered assistant prosecutor Michael Mestern. "To say that their BACs may have contributed to the cause of death is a reach to say the least," he told the judge. "This is kind of a red herring."
• Higgins faces two counts each of aggravated manslaughter and reckless vehicular homicide, with the potential for 70 years in prison. He rejected a plea of 35 years, citing less severe sentences in similar cases. Higgins' blood-alcohol level was .087 on the day of the accident, which took place on August 29. The brothers were in town for their sister's wedding in Salem County.
• "There are four witnesses that witnessed the defendant speeding and illegally passing the Bronco on the right when he struck the brothers," wrote Mestern in a court filing. "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."

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