How botched blood alcohol test in Johnny Gaudreau case could be a huge problem for prosecutors
Prosecutors appear to have botched the blood-alcohol test for the New Jersey man accused of drunkenly mowing down NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, experts told The Post.Sean Higgins wants the criminal charges against him tossed on the grounds a bad blood-alcohol content (BAC) test wrongly pegged him at .087 — above the legal limit of .08 — when he was actually at .075, his lawyer claimed.New Jersey legal experts said there is merit to Higgins’ arguments that the blood test is likely to be a major factor at trial.At issue, prosecutors ran the blood test on Higgins’ blood plasma, which showed him over the limit after the fatal crash, his lawyers claimed.However, Higgins’ team hired a toxicology expert who found his BAC was actually below the legal limit when adjusting for the false increase plasma tests yield, according to Higgins’ lawyer.Anthony Vecchio, a Woodbridge, NJ-based lawyer who specializes in DUI cases, said “they are supposed to test whole blood,” because a plasma test can show BAC that is artificially higher.Another Garden State lawyer, Donny Epstein, called the prosecution’s use of blood plasma “a head scratcher.”“You’re left with the question, why did they do it this way,” Epstein said.Salem County prosecutor Michael Mestern downplayed the defense claim that the BAC test was problematic, saying his office would “refute” the findings of Higgins’ toxicology expert — and said it should be up to a jury to decide if the test is valid or not.Mestern also claimed his office had plenty of other damning evidence with which to convict Higgins.The charges are two counts of reckless vehicular homicide, two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and tampering with physical evidence.Higgins faces 72 years behind bars if convicted on all counts for the Aug.
29, 2024 crash that left Johnny, 31, and his 29-year-old brother Matthew dead as they were cycling on the side of the roa...