Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau ‘Unquestionably Created Hazard’ That Caused Their Deaths, Says Defense Expert

A defense expert for the man accused of killing NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau believes the siblings created the conditions which caused their deaths.

As Globe previously reported, Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were hit by a car and killed while biking in New Jersey on August 29, 2024, ahead of their sister Katie‘s wedding.

The driver, Sean Higgins, was charged with aggravated manslaughter, reckless vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and tampering with physical evidence. He previously rejected a plea deal that would have required him to plead guilty, while a judge denied requests to dismiss or reduce the charges. The trial is set for January 2027, per NJ.com.

As pretrial proceedings continue, new documents were filed by Higgins’ defense team this week, including an accident reconstruction report from expert Justin P. Schorr. His report, per Court TV, aimed to discredit the findings of investigators claiming the brothers were biking one after the other on the shoulder of the road at the time of the incident.

Schorr argued the two were actually riding in the northbound lane — not the shoulder — and said New Jersey State Police incorrectly concluded the pair were hit while Higgins illegally passed a vehicle in front of him on the right, according to NJ.com.

As for the claim they were riding single file, Schorr called it a “beyond bizarre” conclusion.

“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,” he wrote in the documents, per Court TV. “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.”

“As slow-moving objects within the northbound travel lane at night, one darkly clad and the other without a shirt, the cyclists (who did not have the lighting required to operate a bicycle at night on New Jersey roadways) objectively and unquestionably created the hazard which led to the subject collision event,” Schorr concluded.

According to NJ.com, Higgins’ attorney previously claimed Johnny had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.129 percent at the time of death, while his brother’s was 0.134 percent. His legal team has also argued Higgins’ blood alcohol content was .075 percent — below the legal limit of .08 percent in New Jersey — though prosecutors insist it was .087 percent.

Higgins’ attorneys are asking the judge to order prosecutors to disclose more evidence so they can independently verify and challenge the state’s collision findings.

The final pretrial hearing is set for October 19.