The mother of NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, spoke out after the man accused of killing them in a drunk driving incident in New Jersey pleaded not guilty in the case.

Sean M. Higgins, 44, is accused of being drunk when he hit the Gaudreaus while they were biking in August 2024. The brothers were in town for their sister's wedding at the time of the incident. Both were killed, nj.com.

Higgins pleaded not guilty in the case. He faces charges of vehicular homicide, first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal accident. and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence.

Jane Gaudreau posted two quotes to Instagram following the not-guilty plea, according to PEOPLE. "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.

Johnny Gaudreau
Johnny Gaudreau Jason Mowry/Getty Images

"When you have a bad day — a really bad day — try and treat the world better than it treated you," the second quote, by Patrick Stump, read.

At the court hearing, prosecutors revealed they had offered Higgins a sentence of 35 years in exchange for a guilty plea, nj.com reported. His next court date is set for Feb. 4.

"We believe that the facts of this case will reveal that this tragedy was not the result of any malfeasance," Higgins' attorneys told the media. "But rather a combination of uniquely unfortunate circumstances unlikely to ever occur again."

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Police maintain that Higgins failed a field sobriety test and that his blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.087% the day of the crash, over the legal limit of 0.08%, nj.com reported.

--Originally appeared on 'Lawyer Herald.'