Gaudreau suspect pleads not guilty to homicide charges after turning down 35-year prison sentence

PHILADELPHIA — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, as they cycled on a rural New Jersey road pleaded not guilty to the indictment Tuesday after turning down a prosecution offer of 35 years in prison.

Sean M. Higgins, 44, appeared briefly in court in Salem County, New Jersey, and entered a formal plea to the recent indictment in the Aug. 29 deaths. The case will now move toward trial.

Defense lawyers, in a statement, said they hope to prove that the deaths stemmed not from any “malfeasance” but from “a combination of uniquely unfortunate circumstances unlikely to ever occur again.”

They described Higgins as a combat veteran who has faith in the legal system.

Prosecutors say the married father of two — who worked for an addiction treatment company — had a history of road rage and was impaired that day after drinking five or six beers. He said he had been driving around for two hours, sometimes talking by phone with a friend, after an upsetting conversation with his mother.

Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were killed near their childhood home in South Jersey on the eve of their sister’s wedding.

A driver in front of Higgins told police that he had been driving aggressively. When she and another driver slowed down and moved left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreaus, she said.

Higgins had a blood-alcohol level of .087, which is above the state’s .08 legal limit, and failed a field sobriety test, police said.

He is being held on charges that include two counts each of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide, along with evidence tampering and leaving the scene of an accident.

Defense lawyer Matthew Portella has called Higgins a loving father and a good person who “made a horrible decision that night.”

Both Portella and county prosecutors confirmed the terms of the proposed deal.

Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the NHL and was set to start his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames.