The man accused of driving under the influence and causing the deaths of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother is making a determined effort to have his confession excluded from legal proceedings.

Sean Higgins, 44, was present in a Salem County courtroom on Wednesday, where he listened to the testimonies of four officers who arrived at the scene shortly after the tragic incident involving the Gaudreau brothers in August of last year. The brothers were reportedly struck while riding their bicycles.

According to the New York Post, the officers recounted how a visibly distressed Higgins confessed to hitting the brothers just prior to his arrest. He now faces charges including two counts of reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter.

Bodycam footage from the officers reveals Higgins asking state trooper Zachary Harding, “Is anybody dead back there?” He went on to describe the circumstances leading up to the crash.

Higgins asserted that he was trying to overtake a slow-moving vehicle when the other driver unexpectedly shifted into the lane of oncoming traffic. This maneuver forced Higgins back into his original lane, where he collided with the two cyclists.

Sean Higgins (pictured in April) appeared in court on Wednesday as he and his defense team attempted to have his confession thrown out ahead of his trial

NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and brother Matthew were killed after being struck while cycling  

‘I passed back over because he was passing [in] this lane. I hit the bikers,’ he said.

In another video, he can be heard saying: ‘My life is over. I just hit people, apparently. I don’t know what the hell I just hit. I hit bikers who were in the middle of the road, in the dark.’

The bodycam footage was played in court in a bid to determine whether Higgins’ statements should be allowed in at trial.

Higgins’ defense attorneys are arguing that he wasn’t properly read his Miranda rights as police addressed him, and that he was questioned by cops at the police station despite asking for a lawyer during his interview.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, countered that Higgins was read his rights at the scene and later at the police station, and that he indicated he understood and agreed to speak.

The court was shown bodycam footage from the moments after the crash in New Jersey 

A driver in front of Higgins told police that he had been driving aggressively. When she and another driver slowed down and moved to the left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right before striking the brothers, she said

Higgins has previously rejected a 35-year-sentence plea deal and pleaded not guilty to his charges of reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter. He faces up to 70 years in prison if found guilty on all counts.

Two more state troopers, Mark Allonardo and Adam Crespo, also testified in court on Wednesday, with the former stating: ‘I could detect an odor of alcoholic beverage from defendant’s breath as I spoke to him.’

Allonardo went on to explain that he made Higgins take a field sobriety test shortly after, which he failed. He also allegedly told cops he’d had ‘five or six drinks’.

He is also claimed to have told them: ‘I mean I’ve been drinking beers, but I haven’t had one in like two hours.’

Johnny and Matthew were knocked off their bikes the night before their sister’s wedding 

Higgins is shown shortly after his arrest

Higgins has previously attempted to have his charges reduced or dropped on the grounds that the brothers, who were more inebriated than him, contributed to the accident.

Matthew, 29, and Johnny, 31, both had blood alcohol levels of .129 or above, which registered higher than Higgins’ at the time of the accident.

The Gaudreau brothers were in the area to attend their sister’s wedding, which was scheduled to take place the day after they were mown down.

Higgins pulled his car over a quarter of a mile down the road from where he allegedly struck the brothers, where cops found him.