Katherine Berman, wife of ESPN personality Chris Berman, had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit when she crashed her Lexus into the back of a Waterbury man’s car last year, killing them both, a state police report obtained by The Courant concludes. 
 
 The state police investigation concluded that Berman was speeding, not maintaining her lane and never applied the brakes before rear-ending a car driven by 87-year-old Edward Bertulis. 
 
 Family Of Waterbury Man Killed In Crash Will Sue Estate of Katherine Berman, Wife Of ESPN Star Chris Berman » 
 
 Bertulis was driving on Sherman Hill Road in Woodbury after visiting his wife’s grave. Berman had just left the nearby Market Place Kitchen & Bar. 
 
 Bertulis ’ family has filed a lawsuit against the bar, alleging it continued to serve Berman while she was intoxicated. 
 
 The state police probe was closed with no charges filed because both drivers died in the crash. 
 
 But the two-page accident summary written by Trooper Joel Portorreal concludes “the operator of the Lexus SC430 was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, was speeding and failed to maintain her lane. Additionally, the operator of the Lexus “failed to recognize the hazard in front of her … did not apply the brakes, and/or take evasive action.” 
 
 Katherine Berman, Wife Of ESPN Star Chris Berman, Was Served Alcohol While Drunk Before Fatal Crash, Lawsuit Alleges » 
 
 The accident reconstruction team concluded she was traveling up to 82 mph at the time of the crash. The speed limit on that road is 45 mph. Police estimated Bertulius was driving about 30 mph when his car was struck. 
 
 Toxicology tests revealed she had a blood/alcohol level of .26 — the legal limit in Connecticut is .08. 
 
 In addition there were traces of strong medications in her system, including oxycodone and tramadol and anti-depressants including citalopram, the report said. 
 
 The accident occurred on the afternoon of May 9, 2017. The state police investigation was completed recently and The Courant obtained the more than 200-page report through a Freedom of Information request. 
 
 Katherine Berman, Wife Of ESPN Personality Chris Berman, Died From Blunt Trauma, Drowning » 
 
 The accident reconstruction team concluded that Berman first lost control of the car as she was negotiating a left curve just west of Trolley Bed Road. The car went off the road and slammed into the guardrail before returning to the roadway. 
 
 The car reached a speed of 82 mph just before impact. The force of the crash tore the steering wheel out of Bertulius’ car. The impact sent his car traveling more than 175 feet before it came to rest upside down. 
 
 Several other motorists driving on Sherman Hill Road told state police they saw the black Lexus moving fast and erratically and then heard a loud crash. 
 
 Bertulis wasn't wearing a seat belt and was partially thrown from his car, state police said. He died at a Waterbury hospital. 
 
 Berman’s Lexus veered off the road after the crash and down an embankment and overturned in a small body of water, state police said. Two motorists and the school resource officer from nearby Pomperaug High School tried to remove her from the vehicle but couldn’t. She died of blunt force trauma and drowning. 
 
 State police interviewed Sandra Lewis, Katherine Berman’s sister, who said the two woman had lunch at The Market Place and that Katherine ordered oysters, stuffed clams and bread. She also had one martini with lunch that she didn’t finish, her sister said. 
 
 After eating, the two woman “ordered some chocolate drink” with alcohol but didn’t finish it, she said. Lewis said that her sister seemed fine and was preparing for her son’s wedding. She said Katherine Berman did wear a back brace because of problems with her lower back. 
 
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 State police also interviewed Chris Berman who was in New York attending a Mets game on the afternoon of the crash. Chris Berman said he left for New York the day before and that the couple was scheduled to leave the day after the crash for Florida to celebrate his birthday. 
 
 Berman told police his wife had recently suffered a minor back fracture that she was being treated for. 
 
 The lawsuit is seeking more than $50,000 from the restaurant and its owner, Elias Hawli. 
 
 It was filed under a state statute known as the Dram Shop Act, a law that holds an establishment liable if it serves an intoxicated person and the patron leaves the establishment and causes death or injury. 
 
 The lawsuit alleges that Berman left Market Place at about 2:15 p.m. and drove while intoxicated onto Sherman Hill Road, and was following immediately behind the car operated by Bertulis “when, in consequence of her intoxication, she suddenly and without warning slammed into the rear end of Mr. Bertulis car.” ||||| Katherine Berman, the wife of ESPN personality Chris Berman, was served alcohol even though she was intoxicated shortly before a car crash that killed her and a Waterbury man, a lawsuit filed against a Woodbury bar charges. 
 
 The family of Edward Bertulis, killed in the 2017 crash, filed the lawsuit against the Market Place Kitchen & Bar. 
 
 Filed in Superior Court in Litchfield, the suit alleges that restaurant employees served alcohol to Berman on May 9, 2017, while she was intoxicated. The lawsuit is seeking more than $50,000 from the restaurant and its owner Elias Hawli. It was filed under a state statute known as the Dram Shop Act, a law which holds an establishment that serves an intoxicated person liable if the patron leaves the establishment and causes death or injury. 
 
 State police say they are still investigating the crash and haven’t released a final report. The state medical examiner’s office ruled Berman's death an accident and said she died from blunt trauma and drowning. It declined to release toxicology results. 
 
 Katherine Berman, Wife Of ESPN Personality Chris Berman, Died From Blunt Trauma, Drowning » 
 
 The lawsuit alleges that Berman left Market Place at about 2:15 p.m. and drove while intoxicated onto Sherman Hill Road, a short distance away from the restaurant, and was following immediately behind the car operated by Bertulis “when, in consequence of her intoxication, she suddenly and without warning slammed into the rear end of Mr. Bertulis car.” 
 
 The 2003 Lexus SC 430 driven by Berman hit the rear of the 2003 Ford Escape driven by Bertulis, veered off the road and down an embankment and overturned in a small body of water, state police said. The Ford struck a utility pole and flipped, landing on its roof. Bertulis wasn't wearing a seat belt and was partially thrown from his car, state police said. 
 
 The lawsuit doesn’t specify how many drinks Berman was served at the restaurant that day. 
 
 Neil Vigdor/Hartford Courant A lawsuit charges the Woodbury restaurant Market Place Kitchen & Bar served Katherine Berman while she was intoxicated. A lawsuit charges the Woodbury restaurant Market Place Kitchen & Bar served Katherine Berman while she was intoxicated. (Neil Vigdor/Hartford Courant) 
 
 New Milford attorney Phillip Spillane, who is representing the Bertulis family, declined to comment on the lawsuit. West Hartford Attorney Francis Paola, who is representing the restaurant owner, also declined to comment Monday. Neither Katherine Berman nor her estate are named in the lawsuit. 
 
 Bertulis had just left a cemetery where he was visiting his wife's grave. His family members said his daily routine has included a visit to her gravestone since her death in 2015.
– Connecticut's Dram Shop Act makes liable an establishment that serves alcohol to an intoxicated person if that person subsequently kills or injures someone, and it's what a somewhat high-profile suit was filed under. The suit alleges Katherine Berman, the 67-year-old wife of ESPN personality Chris Berman, was served by Woodbury's Market Place Kitchen & Bar on May 9, 2017, though she was intoxicated. She left the restaurant in the early afternoon and crashed into a car driven by Edward Bertulis, 87. Both were killed, and Bertulis' family is behind the suit, which seeks upwards of $50,000 from the eatery and owner Elias Hawli. The suit doesn't detail how many drinks Berman, who was having lunch with sister Sandra Lewis, allegedly received. But a state police report obtained by the Hartford Courant quotes Lewis as saying Berman had oysters, stuffed clams, bread, and one martini that she didn't finish, followed by an alcoholic chocolate drink that also wasn't finished. The report says Berman's blood-alcohol level was .26, more than three times the legal limit. She was driving her Lexus as fast as 82mph on a road that had a 45mph speed limit, did not stay in her lane, and never braked before slamming into Bertulis' vehicle. Traces of oxycodone, tramadol, and anti-depressants including citalopram were found in her system; Chris Berman told police she was being treated for a minor back fracture. One wrenching detail from the Courant: Bertulis was killed after leaving the cemetery he visited daily; his wife was buried there in 2015.