LINDEN -- Sixteen months after he crashed into a truck Staten Island in an allegedly alcohol-related crash that killed two of his passengers, former Linden police officer Pedro Abad returns to court Thursday for yet another hearing in his case.

Abad's attorney, Mario Gallucci, has been awaiting tests on a sample of his client's blood to see if there is any trace of the drug GHB that might have been slipped into his drink by dancer at a strip club he went to with three friends before the crash.

It is uncertain if the drug tests have been completed or will be discussed in court on Thursday.

Abad, 28, has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and manslaughter as part of a 27-count indictment.

Authorities said that shortly before 5 a.m. on March 20, 2015, Abad was driving home with his friends when he turned the wrong way on the Westshore Expressway and crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer.

Fellow Linden police Officer Frank Viggiano and fellow Linden resident Joseph Rodriguez, both 28, were fatally injured. A third Linden officer, Patrik Kudlac, 24, was critically injured, but has since recovered. Kudlac is planning to return to his job on the police department.

Authorities said Abad and his friends went to bars in Union County on the night of March 19, 2015, and then went to Curves strip club on Staten Island. At the time of the crash, Abad had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit, prosecutors said.

Gallucci has suggested that Abad might have been drugged with GHB, the so-called date rape drug, while he was at the strip club. He said dancers at other clubs have used GHB to get customers to spend more money.

The attorney first suggested the tests for GHB last October, but he process has been delayed over issues of which laboratory should do the examination and how much of the blood sample was available, or needed, for the tests.

Judge Stephen Rooney on Thursday may also hear motions that Gallucci and assistant District Attorney Mark Palladino have filed in the case.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.