Retired NJ cop who did a year in jail for killing jogger has second DUI dismissed

🚔 Drunk-driving charge dismissed against retired police Sgt. Kevin Betyeman
⚖️ He previously served jail time for killing jogger Celeste Andresen while driving drunk.
⚖️ A lawsuit filed by the victim's husband was settled out of court

RARITAN BOROUGH — A retired police officer who went to county jail for killing a jogger in Somerset County while driving drunk has seen a separate, second DWI charge dismissed.

Kevin Betyeman, of Bridgewater, pleaded guilty last week to three offenses: careless driving, likely to endanger person or property and failure to remove snow or ice from a vehicle, Patch reported.

In fall 2020, Betyeman struck and killed 60-year-old Celeste Andresen while she was trying to cross a street in Raritan.

He was pulled over months later and less than a mile from the first incident for a separate DUI in February 2021.

Recently, the DUI charge was " dismissed for lack of prosecution," Municipal Court Administrator Jenni Peterson said to Patch.

Defense attorney James Wronko said that Betyeman was issued fines as a penalty.

A key factor in that DUI dismissal was missing drug test results in the case file, when it was finally handed back to municipal court over the summer, a relative of Andresen said to New Jersey 101.5.

Read More: Retired cop faces second DWI months after deadly crash in Raritan

Fatal DWI crash in Raritan killed beloved jogger Celeste Andresen

In July 2019, Sgt. Betyeman retired after 25 years with the Mountainside Police Department.

As of October 2025, he has already received nearly $91,000 in pension payments, listed at $7,564 a month in state records.

The deadly crash happened on Sept. 18, 2020.

Andresen, a native of New Jersey who was living in Arizona, was struck and killed while she was trying to get through the intersection of Old York Road and Woodmere in Raritan.

Andresen was one of six siblings. Her family had been hopeful for more accountability in the system, the same relative told New Jersey 101.5.

The jogger’s husband, James Bergstrom, filed a lawsuit in January 2021, accusing Betyeman of auto negligence and personal injury of his slain wife.

Read More: Retired cop in Raritan deadly DWI crash faces 3rd degree charges

Jail sentence and lawsuit followed deadly crash

In October 2021, Kevin Betyeman was sentenced to an aggregate term of 364 days in county jail for third-degree strict liability homicide.

He was also given five years' probation.

"Betyeman was not treated differently due to his prior law enforcement experience," a spokesman for the prosecutor's office previously said in response to New Jersey 101.5. a

By December 2021, the lawsuit from Bergstrom was dismissed, as the parties settled out of court with Betyeman and his auto insurer, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, “with prejudice and without costs against any party.”

Betyeman’s late father, Walter Betyeman, was also a longtime officer with the Mountainside Police Department.

He then worked with the Union County Prosecutor's Office, where he retired in 1986 as a detective sergeant.

Walter Betyeman died in July 2021, as his son was already navigating his deadly DWI case.

Andresen had been born and raised in Raritan before becoming a long-time resident of Arizona.

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