Man Pleads Guilty in Malik Sealy Crash

M I N N E A P O L I S, Sept. 25 -- The man accused of killing MinnesotaTimberwolves player Malik Sealy in a drunken driving crash pleadedguilty today.

Souksangouane Phengsene, 44, was originally scheduled to go ontrial today. Instead, he pleaded guilty to criminal vehicularhomicide.

Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar said she would seek the four-year prison sentence called for by state sentencingguidelines, while Phengsene’s attorney planned to ask for less time.

Phengsene was driving the wrong way down Highway 100 when he smashed head-on into Sealy’s car May 20 in St. Louis Park as Sealy, 30, was returning home from a birthday party for teammate Kevin Garnett.

Phengsene admitted he had been drinking at a friend’s home before the crash. Authorities said he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, nearly twice the legal limit.

Phengsene, of Minneapolis, was convicted of misdemeanor drunken driving in Des Moines, Iowa, three years ago.

Sentencing was set for Oct. 18.

Sealy’s widow, Lisa E. Sealy, also is suing Phengsene over the crash.