Sean Higgins is accused of the deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother

Prosecutors requested 30 days to file formal charges against Higgins

The Gaudreau family was in the courtroom for the brief hearing

The driver accused of killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, while bicycling on a rural New Jersey road appeared briefly in court Tuesday, where the judge extended the deadline for prosecutors to request an accusation.

The brief hearing, in which the judge gave prosecutors an additional 30 days to file formal charges in the deaths of the Gaudreaus on August 29, It was the first time the Gaudreau family and 44-year-old defendant Sean M. Higgins faced each other in court. Previously, Higgins appeared at the hearings via video from behind bars.

Authorities say Higgins, who is from Woodstown, became intoxicated after drinking five or six beers the day he crashed into the brothers’ bikes, and that he has a history of road rage and aggressive driving.

READ ALSO: Englishtown, New Jersey, police chief arrested on shoplifting charges

Driver: Higgins was driving aggressively

Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were killed near their childhood home in South Jersey on the eve of their sister’s wedding. The family, including his father, Gus Gaudreau, declined to comment on the case Tuesday in Salem County Court.

Higgins told police that on the day of his arrest, he had been driving for two hours while talking to a friend on the phone after having a disturbing conversation with his mother.

A driver in front of Higgins told police that Higgins had been driving aggressively. When she and the vehicle in front of her slowed down and moved to the left to go around the cyclists, Higgins accelerated and veered to the right, striking the Gaudreaus, she said.

Higgins had a blood alcohol level of .087, which is above the state’s legal limit of .08, and failed a field sobriety test, police said. He faces preliminary charges of two counts of death by automobile, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consumption of alcohol in a vehicle.

READ ALSO: North Jersey wildfire could quickly destroy 5,000 acres

A good person who made a bad decision.

Higgins faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of one of the death by automobile charges. The judge said that made him a flight risk and ordered him to be jailed until trial.

Defense attorney Matthew Portella has called Higgins “a loving father of two daughters” and a good person who “made a horrible decision that night.” Portella declined to comment after Tuesday’s hearing.

Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the NHL and was set to begin his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames.

(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)