(Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS) Tyler Berry, the former police officer charged in the drunk-driving crash that killed a Milford woman in 2019, glances back at the gallery during his sentencing hearing in Superior Court Friday.

MANCHESTER – Tyler Berry, the former Amherst resident who served as a police officer in Bedford and Londonderry until he was charged with several offenses in connection with a DWI crash that claimed the life of a 21-year-old Milford woman, was sentenced Friday afternoon to roughly 7 years in State Prison.

Chief Superior Court Justice Tina Nadeau pronounced sentence at the roughly two-hour hearing, at which Berry, represented by Nashua Attorney Charles Keefe, entered guilty pleas to two of the several charges he originally faced.

Berry, 30, was arrested in early April 2019 after crashing his truck head-on into a car driven by Milford resident Sierra Croteau on Route 101 in Amherst. Croteau sustained fatal injuries, while Berry, who was off-duty at the time, suffered comparatively minor injuries and was arrested later at a Manchester hospital.

On Friday, Berry pleaded guilty to manslaughter, in exchange for a stand-committed prison term of 10-20 years, with three years of the minimum suspended, contingent on good behavior and that he abides by all terms of the agreement.

Berry also pleaded guilty to falsifying physical evidence, for which he was sentenced to 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison, all suspended for 5 years beginning with his release from prison, again contingent on his good behavior and compliance with the other terms of the agreement.

Those terms include paying $385 restitution to Andrew Croteau, Sierra Croteau’s father, and that Berry have no contact with any members of Sierra Croteau’s family.

Some of those family members, along with friends of Sierra Croteau, rose to speak when offered the opportunity. Berry, facing a framed photo of Croteau displayed in the courtroom, became emotional at times, as did most of the speakers.

Berry, granted permission to address the family directly, apologized to them, and said he takes total responsibility for what he did.

Nothing he could do could ever bring Sierra back, Berry said, adding that he regrets what he did.

Still pending in court is the civil suit that Croteau’s parents filed in February 2020, naming Berry and two businesses as defendants.

According to the case file, the plaintiffs accuse the businesses — East Coast Restaurant and Nightclubs, LLC, which is the listed operator of Millennium Cabaret on South River Road in Bedford; and Pipe Dream Brewing, LLC, which has a brewery and taproom located on Harvey Road in Londonderry — of allegedly serving an allegedly intoxicated Berry alcoholic beverages the night of the crash, and also accuses the businesses of not taking steps to prevent Berry from driving away from their establishments.

Documents filed in that case indicate the next hearing is a trial management conference set for May 22, 2023, with jury selection for a possible trial scheduled to take place June 5.

Telegraph contributor Jeffrey Hastings provided reporting for this story.