The alleged drunk driver who fatally plowed into NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother as they were biking in southern New Jersey Thursday night appeared to sigh with exasperation when he learned he would be held in jail through next week.
Sean Higgins, 43 — who is charged in the deaths of Gaudreau, 31, and his younger brother Matthew, 29 — made his first appearance Friday afternoon in Salem County Court, where he was ordered to be heid behind bars until his next detention hearing on Sept. 5.
“So…I’m here until Thursday?” Higgins asked Judge Michael J. Silvanio at one point during the proceedings.
When the judge explained that the usual 72-hour holding period was extended due to the holiday weekend, Higgins sat back in his chair and let out a heavy sigh.
Higgins, who is facing two counts of second degree vehicle manslaughter, was expressionless as the judge recounted how he killed the two brothers.
The Woodstown resident appeared virtually from jail, wearing a dark-green jacket with velcro shoulders and bare arms. He had a bandage on his wrist.
There was no family in the courtroom to support Higgins, who was represented by a public defender, Cody Dooley.
“Don’t talk to anyone at the jail about your case,” Dooley warned.
“I wouldn’t talk about the case with anyone who isn’t your attorney.”
Higgins plans to hire his own private attorney going forward, he told the judge.
“When I do hire an attorney… I have very limited contact with anyone now, I don’t have a phone, I can’t really reach anybody… how do I get that process started?” he asked.
The judge told Higgins to ask someone in the jail for help, or to ask family and friends who might be willing to assist.
The court appearance took place around the same time that the Gaudreau brothers were set to be groomsmen in the Friday afternoon wedding of the sister, Katie.
The 1:45 p.m. ceremony at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Gloucester City was canceled in light of the tragedy.
Johnny Gaudreau and his brother were biking on County Route 551 in their hometown of Oldmans Township around 8 p.m when Higgins struck them from behind with his black Jeep Grand Cherokee, the New Jersey State Police said.
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Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
The trooper who responded to the crash noted the scent of alcohol on Higgins’ breath.
The motorist later admitted that he had “five to six beers” before the fatal incident.
Higgins failed a field sobriety test, troopers said.
He later appeared glassy-eyed and somewhat dazed in his mugshot.
In an interview with police, Higgins explained that he was traveling north in a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind a sedan and an SUV, the criminal complaint obtained by The Post said.
He tried to pass the slower-moving cars by moving into the southbound lanes, the authorities explained.
Higgins passed the sedan and tried to reenter the northbound lanes when the SUV in front of him moved into the middle of the roadway in order to safely pass the bicyclists on the right side of the road.
Higgins then tried to move past the SUV on the right, and struck the brothers from behind, troopers said.
He told police that he believed that SUV was preventing him from passing, and that his alcohol consumption exacerbated his frustration and lack of patience.
The Gaudreau family released a heart-wrenching statement about the accident on Friday.
“Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, and brothers-in-law, two nephews, two cousins, two family members, two teammates, two friends but truly two amazing humans,” relative Jim Gaudreau said in a statement to news station WBZ-TV.
“We want to let everyone know we are receiving your messages of love and support and we appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers. We ask for your continued respect and privacy during this very difficult period of grief.”
Higgins lives with his wife and young daughters just five minutes from the crash site, in a picturesque two-story gray weatherboard house with a pitched shingle roof.
There were Amazon packages for the family on the front step, but no one was home on Friday afternoon.
A makeshift memorial at the site of the accident included a small wooden hockey stick with “Johnny ‘Hockey’ Gaudreau” written on it in black marker, a heart-shaped balloon with “I love you” printed on it, six bouquets of flowers and one full-sized Koho hockey stick.
The county road is rural, with crops on either side. There are no shoulders or street lights.
