Video of driver's arrest released in Johnny, Matthew Gaudreau deadly crash case
New Jersey State Police released police body camera footage, a crash report, 911 calls and other records Friday evening related to the investigation into the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
Blue Jackets star forward Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother Matthew, 29, died while bicycling near a rural intersection on Aug. 29 in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, the day before they were scheduled to be groomsmen in their sister's wedding in Philadelphia.
Earlier this week: Columbus Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames honor Gaudreaus with emotional pregame ceremony
Sean M. Higgins, 43, of Woodstown, New Jersey, has been charged with two counts of death by auto. Authorities have alleged that Higgins, while driving a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, passed a sedan on the left and then wanted to pass an SUV. But the SUV had moved to the left to avoid the brothers cycling on the shoulder. The SUV driver told investigators Higgins accelerated past that vehicle on the right, hitting the brothers, and then continued on.
Higgins drove about 1,500 feet away from the crash before stopping his vehicle, according to the crash report.
The crash report reveals Matthew was riding behind Johnny and was hit first while cycling on a county road with "minimal shoulder present."
The crash happened around 8:19 p.m. Body camera footage from an officer after the crash started at 8:42 p.m. The area is extremely dark, and there appear to be no street lights.
On camera, Higgins, a self-employed substance abuse counselor, is seen initially with a cigarette in his mouth. Officers tell him to put it out before putting him through a field sobriety test. He tells them he isn't sure how well he would do because he had knee surgery the previous Friday, six days before.
Asked if he'd been drinking, Higgins told police he had about six beers since noon but hadn't had one in two hours and was coming from Taco Bell after coming from home. According to the crash report, officers later got a subpoena for a blood test. Attorneys have said in court that Higgins' blood alcohol level was 0.087%, over the legal limit of 0.08% at which it is illegal to drive in New Jersey, Ohio and most states.
In the video, Higgins says he's "freaked out" twice.
At the end of the video, after officers handcuff him and read him his rights, Higgins said, "Is everybody OK back there? I mean what happened?"
An officer tells him they'll talk about it at the station.
The released records reveal little new information, and the 911 calls were heavily redacted. New Jersey state law allows for public records to be redacted or withheld in the interest of victims' privacy or health, and the brothers' family had asked a New Jersey judge to stop the release.
After a judge allowed records to be released, police and the Salem County Prosecutor's Office indicated they remained unlikely to release the full records.
Provided records included a protection order that prohibited the release of identifying information for three Jane Doe witnesses. A judge granted the protection order on Nov. 21.
A young-sounding woman was among the 911 callers. She reported being a witness to the crash and the Jeep driver fleeing. She does not know what community she is in and relates how dark it is outside. At one point, she is talking to another person at the same time as the dispatcher.
The dispatcher asks the caller to check on the cyclists' injuries and she indicates her mother was walking over to see. But if she was able to provide info, that is redacted.
(The story was updated to add a photo or video.)
Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner and digital producer Bryce Houston contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Johnny Gaudreau, brother's crash case: Bodycam video, records released
