Ex-Bedford, Londonderry Cop To Plead Guilty To Fatal 2019 Crash

AMHERST, NH — Tyler Berry, a former police officer who struck a car head-on with his pick-up truck in Amherst, killing Sierra Croteau of Milford in an April 2019 crash, is heading to prison.

The head-on crash on Route 101A involved a sedan and Berry's pickup truck. He was accused of driving under the influence and crossing into the lane that Croteau was traveling in. Berry also faced multiple charges including negligent homicide, manslaughter, reckless conduct, falsifying physical evidence, and criminal mischief.

Berry was a Londonderry police officer at the time of the crash and previously was employed in Bedford Police Department.

Court dates continued to get rescheduled since 2019, first for legal challenges his defense team made, and then due to Covid. Berry remained free on bail throughout the delays.

In a document posted on March 18, Berry’s attorney Charles Keefe filed a “notice of intent to enter plead of guilty.” In the document, it stated Berry was entering a capped plea. He will enter a plea of guilty to the charge of manslaughter and serve 10 to 20 years at the New Hampshire State Prison for men, with either 2.5 or 3 years suspended. He also intends to plead guilty to falsifying physical evidence and serve 3.5 to 7 years in prison.

The sentencing for Berry will be determined by a judge on May 6, and at that time the final sentence will be determined.

The intent to plea does not indicate any information on the charges of driving under the influence, negligent homicide, reckless conduct, falsifying physical evidence, and criminal mischief.

Court documents showed Berry was named in a civil case filed in February 2020 which names him as a defendant as well as two businesses. According to court documents, the two businesses listed as defendants are East Coast Restaurant and Nightclubs, LLC and Pipe Dream Brewing, LLC.

East Coast Restaurant and Nightclubs, LLC is listed as the operator of Millennium Cabaret located on South River Road in Bedford. Pipe Dream Brewing, LLC has a brewery and taproom located on Harvey Road in Londonderry.

The civil case was filed by the family of Croteau. The plaintiffs are Debrah Whitney and Andrew Croteau, who are the biological parents along with the Estate of Sierra Croteau.

The court filings alleged the two businesses served Berry on April 5, 2019, who was intoxicated, according to the court documents. It also stated the businesses did not take steps to prevent Berry from driving from their establishments.

The plaintiff's ask court filing states they are seeking:

• Reasonable expenses occasioned to the estate by the injury;
• The probable duration of the plaintiff's decedent's life but for the injury;
• The money the plaintiff's decedent would have earned through her working life but for the injury;
• Other damage to the plaintiff's decedent as allowed by law, in the same manner as if she had survived; and,
• Any and all other damages allowed by New Hampshire law, and NH Rev Stat § 566:12, the Wrongful Death Statute.

Currently, jury selection for the civil cases is scheduled to occur on Nov. 28, 2022.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news