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Sean Higgins was arrested for drunk driving after he was involved in an accident that resulted in the deaths of Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau at the end of August. He appeared in a New Jersey courtroom on Friday, and he will be held without bond until his next hearing, per NHL News.
Higgins will not be in court again until October 15, and he will not be put in public until then, either. According to ABC 6, he admitted to having "five or six" beers before driving that fateful night.
He is charged with two counts of death by auto, which can carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine. Gaudreau had spent the last two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team and city he and his wife wanted to raise their family in.
It was eventually revealed that Higgins is a New Jersey national guardsman and also worked for a drug and alcohol abuse treatment provider.
What happened to Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew?
On August 29, Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau were biking near their family home in New Jersey. They were there to attend their sister's wedding the next day in Philadelphia. While a car was going around them on the left to avoid the bike lane, a drunk driver went around that car on the right and the accident took place.
However, he reportedly did not flee the scene and has since been arrested. The Gaudreau brothers' were laid to rest at a funeral on September 9, 2024. Johnny's widow revealed there that she was pregnant with their third child.
She said via ABC News:
"John and I had the best six months as a family of four. These will forever be the best six months of my life. There's specifically one week that I will cherish forever -- it will be my favorite week of my life out of those six months. We're actually a family of five. I'm in my ninth week of pregnancy with our third baby."
The Calgary Flames have reportedly mulled retiring the number 13 in honor of Gaudreau.
