Body camera footage shows a field sobriety test of the man accused in Gaudreau’s death

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Officials in New Jersey have released the 911 call and police body camera footage from the night Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were killed by suspected drunk driver Sean Higgins in New Jersey.

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On the video received CBS and many other media outlets, an officer administers field sobriety tests to a 44-year-old man from Woodstown, New Jersey, minutes after a collision that killed the NHL star and his younger brother while they were riding their bikes on the side of the road. the night before their sister’s wedding on Labor Day weekend.

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Meanwhile, excerpts of a heavily redacted 911 call from the scene have been released NJ.com appear to support witnesses’ and Higgins’ claims that he hit the brothers while illegally passing other vehicles.

“I’m just scared”

In the nine-minute body camera video, Higgins is first seen with a lit cigarette in hand, telling an approaching officer that he had just come from Taco Bell and had been at home before that.

When asked how much he had drunk, Higgins told the officer he had “had a beer” but hadn’t consumed any in about two hours.

“It must have been an hour or so since the accident,” he elaborates.

As the cop begins the field sobriety test, Higgins says he had knee surgery last Friday and was “going on.”

When asked if he was hurt in the crash, Higgins said he was “just scared.”

Standing on the yellow line in a Lacoste T-shirt, white shorts and flip flops, Higgins is instructed to take 9 steps forward, turn around and take 9 steps back.

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At the end of his first 9 steps, he seems to wince in pain and say “Ow” before asking if he should continue.

What we know about the driver who allegedly fatally struck Johnny Gaudreau and his brother

“As I explained, nine steps forward, a series of small steps, nine steps back,” the officer says, and Higgins audibly flinches again as he turns in the other direction.

During the test, standing on one leg, Higgins stops at the count of six.

“Sorry,” he says, putting his foot down. “I’m just scared. What should I do again?’

Another attempt ended when he reached 11, before he put his foot down and said, “This is getting tough.”

The officer again asks how much Higgins has had to drink, and is told “about five or six” since noon. Seconds later, the married father of two is in handcuffs and being read his license.

As the video ends, Higgins asks, “Is everybody okay? I mean, what happened?”

“We’ll talk about it when we get to the station,” the officer replies.

911 audio

According to NJ.com and multiple other sources, the Gaudreau family took action early on, seeking a court order to preserve the 911 tapes and other public documents.

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After the order was lifted, police and local prosecutors settled with the family over information, giving them priority rights and allowing them to decide what to share with the media.

In one brief audio clip released last week, a young-looking woman tells a dispatcher that as her mother, in the driver’s seat of their vehicle, moved to make way for two bicyclists, “someone came up on her right side at high speed and hit two people on bicycles”.

During questioning after his arrest, Higgins “confirmed that the vehicles were side-by-side when he struck Gaudreau and therefore attempted to pass on the right,” according to the records. statement of facts filed by the Salem County District Attorney’s Office in October.

When asked if anyone was injured and in what condition, the woman said “they’re both on the ground,” and noted that it was too dark to see clearly, at which point the audio cuts out.

Officials also released a crash report indicating that Johnny was walking in front and Matthew was following when they were hit around 8:19 p.m., according to Dispatch of Columbus.

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It also shows that Higgins continued another 1,500 feet, about half a kilometer, before stopping.

There are no court dates

Higgins remains in custody pending his next court appearance on previous charges of two counts of death by motor vehicle, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle.

The last time the Iraq veteran and financial consultant for an addiction treatment company was in court was Nov. 12, when a judge gave prosecutors an additional 30 days to obtain formal grand jury indictments.

Having attended all of his previous hearings via video, the court date marked the first time Higgins and the Gaudreau family had ever met in court.

A spokesman for the Salem County District Court told the National Post by email that no court hearings have been scheduled in the case.

Johnny, a 10-year NHL veteran known as “Johnny Hockey,” was a fan favorite in Calgary, where his career began with the Flames, and in Columbus, where he was set to enter his third season with the Blue Jackets.

His brother played professionally in the AHL and ECHL before becoming the coach at Gloucester Catholic High School, the brothers’ alma mater.

– With files from the Associated Press

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