Sealy Crash Driver Sentenced

The driver who killed Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Malik Sealy in a wrong-way 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's blood-alcohol content was almost twice the legal limit at the time of the crash.

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."

Phengsene was legally drunk when his pickup truck smashed head-on into Sealy's sport-utility vehicle on 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 said after the hearing. "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."

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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