Police in New Jersey have released recordings of 911 calls made by witnesses after the crash that killed Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, as well as the body cam footage from the officers that arrested alleged drunk driver Sean Higgins.
In the frantic calls, one person describes the crash as a hit-and-run and says that they had trouble finding the NHL star and his brother in the dark.
“I just witnessed a hit and run of two people on bikes,” said one caller to 911, reports NJ.com, which filed records requests for the audio and video tapes.
“Is anybody hurt?” a dispatcher asks.
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“Yes, they’re both on the ground,” the caller replies.
The Gaudreaus, who were in their hometown of Salem, NJ, for their sister’s wedding, were biking on the evening of Aug. 29 in nearby Oldmans Township when they were allegedly mowed down by Higgins, who was suspected to be driving drunk.
Johnny, who played 11 seasons in the NHL with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets, and Matthew, a minor-league hockey player, were pronounced dead at the scene.
In the footage taken from body cam worn by a state trooper, Higgins is seen smoking a cigarette when officers arrive to question him.
Higgins told police that he was returning from a trip to Taco Bell.
“Where were you before Taco Bell?” the trooper asks in the video.
“At my house,” he responds.
When asked if he had been drinking, Higgins acknowledges he’d “been drinking beers, but I haven’t had one in like two hours. Since the accident probably an hour or so.”
Higgins, 44, tells police he was “freaked out” as he is asked to complete multiple field sobriety tests.
“You said it’s been about an hour since your last drink?” the trooper asks.
Higgins responds by saying that he had consumed “like five or six” Miller Lites since “like noon today.”
After being handcuffed and arrested, Higgins asks if “everybody OK back there? I mean, what happened?”
“We’ll talk about that when we get to the station,” the trooper responds before leading Higgins to a waiting patrol car.
Higgins has been charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.
The father of two and a major in the New Jersey Army National Guard, faces up to 10 years in prison. He also worked for a substance abuse treatment network in Pennsylvania.