Drunk Driver From Bridgewater ID'd In Fatal Crash: PD

RARITAN, NJ — Authorities have identified the driver charged with driving while intoxicated and fatally hitting a runner on Old York Road on Friday.

Kevin D. Betyeman, 56, of Bridgewater was identified as the driver who fatally hit an avid runner Celeste Andresen, 60, of San Manuel, Ariz., according to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson.

The accident happened on Friday, at around 3:33 p.m., when Andresen was out for a run. She stopped at a designated pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Woodmere Street in an attempt to cross over Old York Road, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Team.

A vehicle driving west on Old York Road and a vehicle coming south on Woodmere Street both reportedly stopped to allow Andresen to cross. When Andresen was about three-quarters of the way across the roadway she was hit a 2018 Chevy Silverado driven by Betyeman, Robertson said.

Andresen was crossing in a painted crosswalk and pedestrian crossing signs were present when she was hit.

Raritan officers found Andresen on the roadway and along with responding medical personnel they began lifesaving measures at the scene. Andresen was then taken by medivac that landed at Duke Island Park to an area trauma center where she was subsequently pronounced dead, Robertson said.

Betyeman was arrested at the scene by Raritan Police for driving while intoxicated and charged with the following motor vehicle offenses: driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, careless driving, and failure to yield to a pedestrian. Additional criminal charges are pending awaiting the lab results of toxicology.

Betyeman was later released pending a future court appearance.

Anyone with information relating to this investigation is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Raritan Borough Police Department at 908-725-6700 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ.

Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

• Read More: Woman Fatally Hit By Car, Drunk Driver Charged In Raritan: Cops

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