Newly released photographs and roadway diagrams are at the center of a defense challenge in the New Jersey crash that killed NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother. The materials, filed in court Monday, are being used to argue that Sean Higgins may not have been driving recklessly when his vehicle struck the cyclists.
The disturbing images show the brothers’ wrecked bicycles alongside the heavily damaged front end of Higgins’ black SUV. Accompanying diagrams illustrate the reported positions of the vehicle and the cyclists at the time of the fatal collision.
According to Higgins’ attorneys, the diagrams point to an impact location that differs from the one described in the police investigation.
Authorities have said the Gaudreau brothers were riding on the shoulder when they were hit. The defense, however, maintains that the men were traveling within the roadway.
“There is no physical evidence that defines precisely where the point of impact was (either laterally or longitudinally) along the roadway,” a defense expert wrote in the latest court filing.
The expert added that the location of the debris and other physical evidence indicated the cyclists were in the northbound travel lane immediately before the crash, rather than on the road’s extremely narrow shoulder.
“An assumption that the cyclists were proceeding along the narrow shoulder is bizarre and inconsistent with science and logic,” the expert stated.
Higgins’ legal team is also contending that the brothers were riding at night without the bicycle lights required by law, along a poorly lit section of road.
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The defense expert questioned whether the police analysis, even if accepted as accurate, proves that Higgins caused the collision.
One photograph shows a Trek road bike with its rear wheel gone and its front wheel folded dramatically in half. Another depicts a Cervelo triathlon bike missing its saddle and showing significant damage to the rear wheel.
Images of Higgins’ Jeep Grand Cherokee show extensive damage as well, including a shattered windshield and a severely crushed front end.
The photographs became public as Higgins was scheduled to appear in court Monday in the case stemming from the 2024 crash, in which he is accused of striking and killing the hockey-playing brothers while intoxicated.
Higgins’ attorneys submitted the images in court papers filed Oct. 5. They are asking Salem County prosecutors to provide evidence used to reconstruct the crash so their own expert can review and challenge the state’s conclusions.
Higgins, a 45-year-old Army veteran, is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 5. Prosecutors allege that his blood-alcohol level was .087 when he struck the brothers as they rode along a road in Oldmans Township on Aug. 29, 2024.
New Jersey’s legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers is .08.
The Gaudreau brothers, both fathers, were returning from their sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner when Higgins allegedly attempted to pass another vehicle and collided with them.
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