The widow of a Lawrence County man is suing the woman charged with killing him while driving drunk in May, as well as three bars where she allegedly drank before the crash.

Lisa Barge, the widow and executor of the estate of James Barge of New Castle, filed the lawsuit last week in Butler County Common Pleas Court against the driver, Kassandra Clyde, 25, of Fombell, Beaver County, and three Lawrence County bars — Kelly’s Side Door Tavern, the Branding Iron Bar and Grille, and Town and Country Bar and Grill. The suit seeks a jury trial and damages in excess of $35,000 for each of the 11 counts filed against the defendants.

Barge, who was 65, was driving home from Butler, where he worked as a pressman for the Butler Eagle, on Route 422 in Franklin Township on May 4 at 1:15 a.m. when, according to state police, Clyde crossed from the eastbound lane she was driving in to the westbound lane where Barge was driving and struck his vehicle head-on. Barge was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Clyde’s blood alcohol content was 0.243% several hours after the crash. In Pennsylvania, the legal limit is 0.08%. She was taken by ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of her injuries.

She is facing felony charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, a misdemeanor charge of DUI with a blood alcohol content of 0.16% or greater, and several summary traffic violations. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 13.

Clyde is free on $500,000 unsecured bail and has been placed on pretrial supervision and fitted with a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring unit, an ankle bracelet that monitors the wearer’s sweat for the presence of alcohol every 30 minutes.

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

The suit claims Clyde was driving negligently while under the influence of alcohol and at an excessive speed at the time of the crash, and that the bars and their employees knew or should have known she was visibly intoxicated and negligently served her intoxicating beverages.

According to the suit, Clyde met a female friend at Kelly’s at 6 p.m. that day, and consumed three mixed drinks and two shots of tequila before leaving at 9 p.m. and going to the Branding Iron.

She drank more mixed drinks at the Branding Iron, became loud and argumentative and left after 45 minutes to go to the Town and Country, where she drank beer and, again, became loud and argumentative before leaving at midnight, according to the suit.

After leaving the Town and Country, Clyde went to a convenience store in Union to order food and then left, traveling east on Route 422 even though her home is to the west, according to the suit.

The suit includes wrongful death and survival action counts of negligence against Clyde, and Dram Shop violations, wrongful death and survival actions against the three bars. Under Pennsylvania's Dram Shop Law, any establishment or licensed individual who gives alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person can be legally held responsible for injuries and damages that person might cause.

Anthony Carbone, owner of the Town and Country, declined to comment. Owners of Kelly’s and the Branding Iron did not return messages left at their establishments. A message left for Clyde seeking comment was not returned.