Driver charged in death of Gaudreau brothers pleads 'Not Guilty'
He turns down a plea offer that would see him serve 35 years in prison.
This just in, according to NBC 4 in Columbus Ohio, Sean Higgins, the 44 year old charged in the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau has plead 'Not Guilty' to six charges.
Higgins appeared in Salem County Court in New Jersey yesterday where he entered a plea of 'Not Guilty' on all charges, including vehicular homicide.
Higgins' defense lawyers informed the judge that a plea offer was made to Higgins on December 23 that would have seen him plead guilty for two counts of aggravated manslaughter for a sentence of 25 and a half years in prison. He would have also had to serve two consecutive five years sentences for leaving the scene of a fatal accident, bringing the proposed sentence up to 35 years and six months in prison.
It's unclear to this reporter what his sentence might be if found guilty on his charges now after turning down his plea offer. He's facing two counts of reckless vehicular homicide, two counts of aggravated manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
For our earlier report on Higgins' indictment, published last month, read below.
According to a report from NBC 10 Philadelphia, a grand jury has indicted drunken driver Sean Higgins on a litany of charges relating to the deaths of Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau.
From NBC 10:
On Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, a grand jury indicted Sean Higgins, 43, of Woodstown, New Jersey, on charges of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, first-degree aggravated manslaughter, fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence and second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau were both killed after Higgins allegedly struck them down with his Jeep Grand Cherokee. The brothers were cycling on Country Route 551 in Oldmans Township, NJ when Higgins allegedly made an illegal pass and hit the brothers who were on the right side of the road.
Higgins failed a sobriety test from police and admitted to drinking "five or six beers" prior to the crash. Higgins was arrested on site and has been housed at the Salem County Correctional Facility since his arrest in August. Last month he was deemed a flight risk and was ordered to remain in jail until the trial, which is scheduled to begin January 7th, 2025.
