| | Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS -- The man who killed Malik Sealy of the
Minnesota Timberwolves in a car crash was sentenced Wednesday to
four years in prison.
Prosecutors asked for the four-year term for Souksangouane
Phengsene, 44, who told Judge Andrew Danielson at the hearing in
Hennepin County District Court that he was sorry for causing the
accident.
Phengsene was legally drunk when his pickup truck smashed
head-on into Sealy's sport utility vehicle May 20. Authorities said
Phengsene, who pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in
September, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19, nearly twice the
legal limit in Minnesota.
"When the defendant made the decision to drink and drive, he
made a decision that resulted in the death of Malik Sealy," County
Attorney Amy Klobuchar. "This was a homicide."
Defense attorneys asked for no prison time for Phengsene,
arguing that he was remorseful and that the accident occurred near
a construction zone. He will have to serve at least 32 months.
"My client has a difficult time going to sleep. Knowing what he
did wakes him up in the morning, early," said defense attorney
Trudell Guere. "He feels very bad about it, he feels very guilty
about it. Who wouldn't?"
Lisa Sealy, the player's widow, also asked Danielson to impose
the four-year sentence. She said Sealy's death deprived her and
their 3-year-old son of a husband and father.
"I implore you to give him the maximum, but four years still
isn't enough," she said.
Turning to Phengsene, she said, "And I want to say to you, no
matter what happens here today, God is going to give you your
punishment."
In pleading guilty, Phengsene admitted that he had been drinking
at a friend's home before the crash. He was driving the wrong way
down Highway 100 in St. Louis Park, a Minneapolis suburb, when he
crashed into Sealy. Sealy, 30, was returning home from a birthday
party for teammate Kevin Garnett.
Phengsene, of Minneapolis, was convicted of misdemeanor drunken
driving in Des Moines, Iowa, three years ago.
Lisa Sealy is suing Phengsene over the crash. | |
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