Beaver County woman facing 3-10 years in prison in fatal crash that killed Butler Eagle press operator
A Beaver County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday, June 3, and will be sentenced to serve 3 to 10 years in prison in a plea agreement reached following a May 2023 crash that killed a Butler Eagle press operator.
Kassandra Clyde, 27, of Fombell, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol and a misdemeanor charge of DUI, and will be sentenced Aug. 21 in the death of 65-year-old James Barge.
Barge, of New Castle, Lawrence County, was driving home from his job as press operator at the Eagle Printing Company Production Center in Butler on May 4, 2023. At 1:15 a.m., he was traveling west on Route 422 in Franklin Township when Clyde, who was driving east, crossed the center line and a turning lane, and struck Barge’s vehicle. He was less than two weeks from his planned retirement.
His widow, Lisa Barge, said she misses Jim “everyday” when she was contacted after the hearing.
“It’s awful. It’s still hard. He’s been greatly missed,” she said.
She said Jim has missed one of his grandson’s high school graduation and will miss the birth of another grandchild expected in July.
“His sisters are still grieving. Our church family, they’ve all been very supportive. They miss him. It’s very hard,” she said.
She said she plans to attend Clyde’s sentencing.
“Jim is a Christian,” Mary Jo Burkholder, whose husband Scott is Barge’s cousin, said outside of the courtroom. “After two years, we forgive her. We wish her the best. We don’t want her to endanger anyone else.”
She said the family doesn’t want Clyde to ever drive again. She said Clyde made a mistake, but she “has a life ahead of her.”
Clyde’s blood alcohol content was 0.243% within two hours after the crash, according to state police. A person is legally too impaired to drive in Pennsylvania with a blood alcohol content of 0.08%.
Zanella said the plea agreement includes a sentence of 36 to 120 months in prison for the homicide by vehicle charge, and the sentence for the DUI charge will be served concurrently.
Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Timothy McCune accepted the agreement and scheduled sentencing. He also ordered a presentence investigation.
In the agreement, assistant district attorney Robert Zanella amended the complaint against Clyde by lowering the homicide by vehicle while DUI charge from a first to a third degree felony, and changing the DUI charge from a second offense to an ungraded misdemeanor. The DUI charge was changed as a result of a recent state Supreme Court decision.
Ironically, Clyde could have been facing a longer prison sentence if her case had been resolved sooner, District Attorney Rich Goldinger said.
The Supreme Court decision, which went into effect Friday, prevents Clyde from being sentenced for a second DUI offense, even though she was charged with a second offense as a result of the crash, he said.
Burkholder, said the case against Clyde had been continued 10 times since the charges were filed two years ago. She said the family is more upset with the district attorney’s office for not providing more information about the continuances than they are with Clyde.
Goldinger said the comment about his office is unfortunate. He said all the continuances were requested by Clyde’s attorney and granted by the judge.
He said his office has kept Barge’s family attorney informed and has gone “overboard” keeping the family informed.
The Supreme Court ruling came in the case of the Commonwealth versus George T. Shifflett, who was sentenced in September 2022 in a DUI case in Adams County. The court ruled that because his first DUI conviction was resolved through an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, he could not be sentenced for having a second DUI offense in his second DUI case.
In Clyde’s case, the crash occurred two days after she requested expungement of a previous DUI conviction for completion of the ARD program.
Court records show Clyde applied for early termination from ARD supervision on April 18 and it was granted April 19. Her penalty was considered satisfied in February after she completed community service of litter pick up in November 2022. She submitted a petition for expungement on May 2.
“It’s going to have a major impact on how we handle DUIs,” Goldinger said. “It could end ARD (in DUI cases).”
He said the county sees 400 to 600 ARD cases per year.
He said he planned to join a conference call Tuesday afternoon with the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association about the impacts of the Shifflett ruling.
