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Jane Gaudreau, the mother of the late NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau, is speaking out after the drunk driver accused of killing them pleaded not guilty.
The mom posted two quotes on her Instagram Stories after Sean M. Higgins pled not guilty in connection to her sons’ Aug. 29 fatal bike accident during a court appearance on Tuesday, Jan 7. The Gaudreau family was present at Tuesday’s hearing, per NJ.com.
“Sometimes life is hard. Some days are very rough, and sometimes you just have to cry before you can move forward … And that’s okay,” one of the quotes read.
Matt Slocum/AP Photo
The other quote shared by Jane was by Patrick Stump. “When you have a bad day — a really bad day — try and treat the world better than it treated you,” the quote read.
Higgins, 44, is accused of being under the influence of alcohol while attempting to pass another vehicle, leading him to fatally strike the brothers while they were riding bicycles near their hometown on Aug. 29. Johnny, who played with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets during a 10-year NHL career, and Matthew were scheduled to appear as groomsmen at their sister’s wedding the following day.
Christian Petersen/Getty; Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty
Body camera footage released by the New Jersey State Police would show Higgins repeatedly saying he was “freaked out” during a roadside sobriety test following the accident and asking if the men were okay. The New Jersey State Prosecutor’s Office alleged that Higgins had a blood alcohol level of .087 when the crash occurred, which is over the 0.08 state legal limit.
Higgins was indicted on several charges in December, including second-degree reckless vehicular homicide and first-degree aggravated manslaughter, according to Salem County court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Richard T Gagnon/Getty
During Tuesday’s court session, Higgins’ defense attorneys claimed that the accident occurred because of “a combination of uniquely unfortunate circumstances unlikely to ever occur again,” the Associated Press reported.
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State prosecutors at the hearing depicted Higgins, a married father of two, as having a history of road rage and of drinking up to six beers before the crash, reports the AP. Higgins is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday, Feb. 4., per NJ.com.