Oct 9, 2026

SALEM, N.J. (Court TV) — Attorneys for the man accused of killing NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother are demanding more evidence from prosecutors after their expert dismissed the state’s analysis of the deadly crash as “obviously incorrect.”

Sean M. Higgins sits in the Salem County, N.J., Courthouse, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Salem, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sean Higgins, 45, is facing multiple charges, including death by auto, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle in the deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau. Prosecutors have said that Higgins was drunk behind the wheel of his Jeep Cherokee when he tried to pass an SUV on its right side and slammed into the two victims, who were on bicycles.

In a new motion to compel discovery filed this week, Higgins’ attorneys have asked a judge to order prosecutors to hand over more of the technical evidence underlying the state’s reconstruction of the collision.

While investigative reports said that the physical evidence could not definitively establish a specific point of impact, the New Jersey State Police created diagrams marking the evidence and hypothesizing the point of impact from the position of the victims and debris in the roadway.

Investigators have said that the Gaudreau brothers were biking one after the other on the small shoulder of the road, which extends less than one foot beyond the fog line. The road has two lanes, with one lane in each direction, separated by a dashed yellow center line. The speed limit is 50 mph.

Damaged bikes belonging to Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau are seen in the grass after a deadly crash. (Defense exhibit)

A report attached to the motion, written by defense expert Justin Schorr, said that investigators got the location wrong when they tried to identify where the collision happened. Schorr said the point of impact had to be before the first debris appeared in the road. “Any indication that the point of impact was north of this, such as the police diagram, is simply incorrect,” Schorr wrote in his report. “The police diagrams show the point of impact occurring north of where the first (southernmost) piece of physical evidence is located. This defies the laws of physics and is obviously incorrect.”

Schorr said the error highlighted a key problem with the prosecution’s reconstruction:

There is no physical evidence that defines, precisely, where the point of impact was (either laterally or longitudinally) along the roadway. That being said, the police have still managed to place the impact at one of the locations where, factually, it did not occur. The arbitrary nature of this placement should be kept in mind for when the police attempt to “replace” their impact location moving forward. Undoubtedly, this impact location will be further south.

N.J. State Police diagram shows debris found on the roadway (Defense exhibit)

Schorr’s report also said the evidence contradicts investigators’ claim that the bicyclists rode single file along the road’s edge. He said the location of the physical evidence from the scene points to the bikers being in the middle of the travel lane, not on the shoulder. “The unusual suggestion that the cyclists were proceeding along this narrow, inconsistent strip in complete darkness completely ignores the fact that both cyclists were intoxicated beyond the legal limit as they proceeded northbound prior to contact. While this suggestion would be unusual for highly attuned, expert cyclists in perfect conditions during the day — it is beyond bizarre when considering it is being made for intoxicated cyclists without illumination in the pitch black.”

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Judge Michael Silvanio refused in 2025 to dismiss the charges against Higgins, whose attorneys argued that the Gaudreau brothers contributed to their own deaths by drinking. Higgins’ attorneys said that the Gaudreau brothers had alcohol levels of .129 or above. While prosecutors have said that Higgins’ blood alcohol content was .087 at the time of the crash, his attorneys said they believe the correct number is closer to .075. New Jersey’s legal limit is .08.