New Jersey State Police body-worn camera video obtained by CBS News Philadelphia shows the arrest of Sean Higgins, the man accused of fatally beating NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while biking in South Jersey on the night of Thursday, August 29.
Higgins, 43, of Woodstown, New Jersey, was previously ordered released by a judge remain in the Salem County Correctional Facility ahead of a possible trial.
This body-worn camera video is a first look at Higgins just moments after the fatal crash.
In the video obtained, police ask where Higgins came from. Higgins responds that he came from Taco Bell in Pennsville and that was why he was at his home. State police ask how much he drank today, to which he replies, “I mean, I’ve been drinking beer, but I haven’t had one in two hours. So since the accident, probably about an hour.”
Before sobriety tests began, Higgins tells police he had surgery on his knee the week before.
The police then instruct him to lean against the police vehicle while they have him follow the direction of the tip of their pen. In the video, police ask if he has any problems with his eyes and Higgins says no.
State police asked again if he had suffered any injuries from that crash, to which Higgins replied, “I’m just freaking out.”
Higgins is then ordered to stand against the yellow line in the middle of the road and the police ask about his knee surgery.
“You mentioned surgery on your knee, how long ago was that?” the police asked.
“Friday,” Higgins said.
“Friday, does this affect you now?” the police asked.
“I mean, I’m poking around, yeah,” he replies.
Higgins then undergoes a field sobriety test along the yellow line, followed by a single-leg stand. During the single-leg stance test, Higgins puts his foot back down a few times before saying, “I’m sorry, I’m just panicking.” Like what am I supposed to do now?’
The state police ask him again about the timeline of his last drink. Higgins responds that he has had five to six beers since the afternoon of that day.
The video shows police handcuffing Higgins and reading him his rights.
The video ends with Higgins asking police, “Is everyone okay back there, I mean what happened?” The police tell him they will talk about that when they get back to the station.
During a detention hearing on Friday, September 13, prosecutors argued that Higgins should remain behind bars because the case was a matter of “impatience, anger and recklessness.”
Prosecutors said: Higgins had finished work around 3pm on the day of the crash, began drinking alcohol and had a disturbing conversation about a family matter and later had a long phone conversation with a friend.
Prosecutors also said lab reports showed Higgins had a blood alcohol level of 0.087 at the time of the crash.
which is above the state’s legal limit of .08.
He faces preliminary charges of two counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, possession of an open container and alcohol in a vehicle.
Higgins faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. A judge said earlier That made him a flight risk and ordered him jailed until trial.
