A Beaver County woman was charged Monday, Oct. 2, with driving under the influence of alcohol and causing a May 4 crash on Route 422 in Franklin Township that killed a 65-year-old pressman, according to state police.

Kassandra M. Clyde, 25, of Fombell, Beaver County, was charged with homicide by vehicle while DUI in connection to the death of James Barge, of New Castle, who was on his way home from his job as a pressman for the Butler Eagle when he suffered fatal injuries from the crash. Police said her blood alcohol content level was 0.243% several hours following the crash.

Clyde was additionally charged with felony aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, misdemeanor DUI and summaries careless driving, failure to keep in the proper lane and disregard of a traffic lane.

The crash occurred around 1:15 a.m. May 4 near the intersection of Route 422 and Unionville Road in Franklin Township, near the Big Butler Fairgrounds, according to documents.

Police said Clyde was traveling east on Route 422 in a Honda CRV when she crossed into Barge’s lane of travel, over solid yellow lines and a turning lane, before striking his 2011 Toyota Camry.

It was determined that Clyde’s vehicle struck Barge’s head-on in the westbound lanes, documents showed. Barge was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to documents.

Barge was employed by the Eagle for nearly 10 years, and was a pressman his entire career, working at the New Castle News, the Youngstown Vindicator and the Wall Street Journal. His family said he was two weeks away from retirement at the time of his death.

The investigating officer said when he approached Clyde, she was being treated by medical personnel in her vehicle. She then exited her vehicle and walked to the ambulance, displaying several signs of intoxication, police said.

Documents showed Clyde told police she had been at a bar with a friend and was attempting to drive home, which was in the opposite direction to which Clyde was traveling at the time of the crash.

Clyde said she only had three drinks, according to the investigating officer. She showed signs of impairment during field sobriety tests, police said, but was unable to finish them and transported by Butler Ambulance Service to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Police said a later blood test showed her blood alcohol content at 0.243%. In Pennsylvania, the legal limit is 0.08%.

Around 3 a.m. on May 4, police said they conducted an interview with Clyde’s sister. Her sister disclosed that Clyde called her before medical personnel arrived at the scene of the crash and said “I’m (redacted),” then hung up the phone.

Clyde’s preliminary hearing before District Judge Joseph Nash has not been scheduled. She is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, Oct. 5, according to officials.