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Sean Higgins appears in court in New Jersey on Thursday

The man accused of driving a vehicle while drunk that crashed into a Columbus Blue Jacket and his brother, killing them both, on the eve of their sister's wedding is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

Sean M. Higgins, 43, is scheduled to appear in court in Salem County, New Jersey, on Thursday morning for arraignment. Higgins is charged with several traffic offenses and two counts of vehicular manslaughter in the August 29 crash that killed 31-year-old Johnny Gaudreau and his 29-year-old brother Matthew Gaudreau.

Higgins is accused of being the driver of a Jeep that struck the brothers as they rode bicycles on County Road 551 in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. He made a brief virtual court appearance Friday afternoon.

During that hearing, Higgins' arraignment was postponed until Thursday. He has been held in the Salem County Jail since then. He was told he is not allowed to speak to anyone in the jail about his case.

Higgins appeared at last week's hearing wearing a garment commonly referred to as a “security gown,” which is often worn by inmates who have expressed thoughts of self-harm.

Sean Higgins: Driver in suspected DUI crash that killed Blue Jackets player Gaudreau worked in addiction rehabilitation

After explaining the charges and his rights, Higgins asked, “So, I’m here until Thursday?”

How did Johnny Gaudreau and his brother die?

Johnny Gaudreau played for the Columbus Blue Jackets for two seasons and for the Calgary Flames for eight seasons before that. Matthew, who played with Johnny at Boston College, was a minor league hockey player.

The brothers were supposed to be witnesses at their sister's wedding on Friday.

According to court documents, Higgins told New Jersey State Police he had consumed “five to six” beers, including while driving. He said his aggressiveness while driving was partly, he believed, due to the alcohol he had consumed.

According to police, Higgins was driving behind two vehicles on the highway when the accident occurred. Higgins drove off center to the left to pass one of the vehicles. The second vehicle had moved left to go around the Gaudreau's. Higgins drove right around that vehicle toward the shoulder where the Gaudreau's were biking.

Both brothers succumbed to their injuries at the scene of the accident.

Police did not provide any information about how fast Higgins was traveling at the time of the accident.

What was the impact of Johnny Gaudreau’s death?

The Gaudreau brothers' deaths have had a far-reaching impact, with condolences pouring in from everyone from NBA star LeBron James to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A fundraiser for Matthew Gaudreau's wife, who is expecting the couple's first child, had raised nearly $600,000 by Wednesday afternoon.

Donations came from fans, some of whom donated $13 in honor of Johnny Gaudreau's jersey number, as well as hockey families. Former Columbus Blue Jackets players Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin donated, as did other NHL stars such as Matthew Tkachuk and current Blue Jackets Zach Werenski and Erik Gudbranson, both of whom were alternate captains on the team last year.

Gudbranson also played with Gaudreau in Calgary before both men joined Columbus in the 2022 offseason.

On Wednesday afternoon, Werenski, Gudbranson, Sean Kuraly and team captain Boone Jenner talked about losing Gaudreau as a hockey player and as a person, from his competitive spirit to the pasta – no sauce, just butter – he ate before the game.

The team has announced that they will travel to Gaudreau's funeral; final arrangements are currently being made.

On Wednesday evening, a candlelight vigil hosted by the team took place outside Nationwide Arena.

General manager Don Waddell said Wednesday that there have been some brief conversations about how to honor Gaudreau during the season, but many of those conversations will take place at a later date as the team goes through the grieving process together.

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