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SALEM, New Jersey – Driver charged with murder of NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthieu, while riding their bikes on a rural New Jersey road, they briefly appeared in court Tuesday, where the judge extended the window for prosecutors to seek an indictment.

The brief hearing, during which the judge granted prosecutors an additional 30 days to seek formal charges in the Gaudreaus’ Aug. 29 deaths, marked the first time the Gaudreau family and the 44-year-old defendant , Sean M. Higgins, faced each other in court. Previously, Higgins had appeared in hearings via video from behind bars.

Authorities say Higgins, a native of Woodstown in southwest New Jersey, was impaired after drinking five or six beers the day he crashed into the brothers’ bikes, and has a history of rage driving and aggressive driving.

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

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 an upsetting conversation with his mother.

A driver who was in front of Higgins told police that Higgins was driving aggressively. When she and the vehicle in front of her slowed down and moved to the left to get around the cyclists, Higgins accelerated and veered right, hitting the Gaudreaus, she said.

Higgins had a blood alcohol level of 0.087, which is above the state’s legal limit of 0.08, and he failed a field sobriety test, police said. He faces preliminary charges of two counts of vehicular death, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a vehicle.

Higgins faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The judge said this made him a flight risk and ordered him held until trial.

Defense attorney Matthew Portella 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 about to begin his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames.