Woman charged with DUI, homicide by vehicle, following death of Eagle pressman
A Beaver County woman was charged Monday, Oct. 2, with driving under the influence and causing a May 4 crash on Route 422 that killed a 65-year-old pressman — three days after requesting expungement of her last DUI, documents show.
Kassandra M. Clyde, 25, of Fombell, was charged with homicide by vehicle while DUI in the death of James Barge, of New Castle, who was on his way home from his job at the Butler Eagle when he suffered fatal injuries from the crash.
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 additionally charged with felony aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, misdemeanor DUI and summaries careless driving, failure to stay 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 2010 Honda CR-V 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 said. Barge was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, police said.
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.
Clyde told police she had been at a bar with a friend and was driving home, though she was traveling in the opposite direction when the crash occurred.
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. She was 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%.
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 (expletive),” 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.
Two days before the May 4 crash, Clyde requested that a previous DUI charge be expunged following her completion of the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program (ARD).
She was accepted into the county program on Oct. 17, 2022, after Zelienople police charged her with driving under the influence of alcohol following an April 19, 2022, traffic stop.
According to the affidavit for the stop, police pulled Clyde over for expired registration on her vehicle.
She showed signs of impairment during field sobriety tests, and a breath test showed her blood alcohol content at 0.210%. A chemical blood test at UPMC Passavant showed her blood alcohol content at 0.174%.
The ARD program is usually for first-time offenders. The program requires participation in a rehabilitative program and offers them the possibility of dismissal of charges and the expungement of their arrest record upon completion of the program.
County Common Pleas Court Judge Timothy McCune’s order placing Clyde in the ARD program included a 60-day suspension of her driver's license and required her to serve 12 months of probation and complete eight hours of litter pickup and alcohol highway safety school.
Charges of DUI, general impairment and driving an unregistered vehicle were dismissed.
If she violated a condition of the program or was charged with a new offense while on probation, she would have been removed from the program and the court would order the district attorney’s office to proceed as allowed by law.
Anyone who completes the ARD program is able to apply to have the charges dismissed by the court. They also would be able to seek expungement of the case from their records, according to the order.
Court records reveal that Clyde completed the program on April 19 this year after picking up litter on Nov. 3, 2022, and her penalty was considered satisfied on Feb. 8 of this year.
She applied for early termination from ARD supervision on April 18, and it was granted April 19. She submitted a petition for expungement on May 2.
