• Sean M Higgins shuns offer of 35 years in prison
• Police say 44-year-old hit brothers while over the limit

The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, as they cycled on a rural New Jersey road pleaded not guilty to the indictment on Tuesday after turning down a prosecution offer of 35 years in prison.

Sean M Higgins, 44, appeared briefly in court in Salem county, New Jersey, and entered a formal plea to the recent indictment in the 29 August deaths. The case will now move toward trial.