| | Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS -- The man blamed in the crash that killed
Timberwolves swingman Malik Sealy was convicted of drunk driving in
Iowa in 1997, court records show.
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| Sealy |
Authorities believe Souksangouane Phengsene, 43, was driving the
wrong way on Minnesota Highway 100 in St. Louis Park early Saturday
morning when his truck collided head-on with Sealy's sport utility
vehicle. Sealy, 30, was dead at the scene.
Phengsene, who recently moved to Minnesota from Des Moines,
Iowa, was in satisfactory condition at Hennepin County Medical
Center with head and chest injuries, a hospital spokeswoman said
Sunday.
It was not clear Sunday if alcohol was a factor in the crash.
Cathy Clark, a spokeswoman for the State Patrol, said on Saturday
that a paramedic on the scene told troopers he smelled alcohol on
Phengsene.
Blood samples were taken from both drivers and will be tested to
determine if alcohol was in either driver's system.
Clark said the investigation will likely take several weeks.
The Des Moines Register reported Sunday that Phengsene was
charged with drunken driving in Des Moines in June 1997. Court
records show that Phengsene pleaded guilty or was found guilty of
the charge about two months later. It was not immediately known
what penalty might have been imposed. He was also arrested at the
time for failing to wear a seat belt and running a stop sign.
Sealy was returning home from a night out celebrating teammate
Kevin Garnett's 24th birthday. The crash caved in the driver's side
of Sealy's Range Rover, and he died of multiple head and chest
injuries.
While dealing with Sealy's death, members of the Timberwolves
organization prepared to attend a memorial service in Golden Valley
on Monday for Bill Musselman, the franchise's first coach. He died
May 5 in Rochester at age 59, a month after being diagnosed with
bone marrow cancer.
Sealy, Garnett and at least one other player had dinner at the
Monte Carlo Bar & Cafe in downtown Minneapolis late Friday night.
Manager Tony Rimarcik said a group of six or seven people had
gathered in a separate room and left the restaurant just before 1
a.m.
Two women who were working at the nearby Deja Vu nightclub
Friday night and early Saturday morning told the Star Tribune that
Sealy, Garnett and two or three other men had been at the club,
which does not serve alcohol. One of the women said the men left
around 3:30 a.m. The newspaper did not name the women.
A thigh-high median separates the northbound and southbound
lanes of Highway 100 in St. Louis Park, a suburb just west of
Minneapolis. State Patrol Cmdr. Al Smith said that means Phengsene
entered the highway going in the wrong direction. Authorities
weren't sure how long he was going in the wrong direction.
Neither Sealy nor Phengsene was wearing a seat belt when they
crashed about 4 a.m. While an airbag deployed in Phengsene's truck,
Sealy's vehicle didn't have an airbag.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Flip Saunders says Malik Sealy will be missed but, never forgotten.
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Police Commander Al Smith describes how the crash occurred.
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T-Wolves President Rob Moor says the organization is in shock about Sealy's death.
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