GUILDERLAND — Saslano S. Suda pleaded guilty last Thursday to felony second-degree manslaughter following a fatal two-car collision in front of Crossgates Mall last November. His friend, a passenger in his car, was killed.

The guilty plea is a part of a plea bargain agreement that has Suda facing three-and-a-half to seven years in state prison, according to the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.

Not being a United States citizen, Suda, who is 40, has accepted the possibility of deportation as part of the plea agreement, according to the district attorney’s office. Suda’s arrest report lists his place of birth as Micronesia, a group of islands in the western Pacific Ocean near Guam and Papua New Guinea.

Acting Supreme Court Justice Dan Lamont will sentence Suda on April 12.

Suda also pleaded guilty before Judge Lamont to driving while under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor. Police say three hours after the crash which killed his 24-year-old passenger, Suda was still intoxicated by nearly double the legal limit. Suda had a blood-alcohol content of .15 percent, according to his arrest report.

His original charges included felony counts of criminally negligent homicide, second-degree vehicular homicide, and first-degree reckless endangerment, as well as misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated and third-degree assault, say Guilderland Police who made the arrest.

Assistant District Attorney Mary Tanner-Ricter, who handled the case, said Suda was indicted on all of the original charges and that he did not have prior alcohol-related convictions.

Excessive speed and intoxication contributed to the accident, according to the Guilderland Police investigation. Tanner-Ricter said it is unclear where Suda was heading to or coming from at 8:37 a.m. on Nov. 17, the time of the accident.

Joseph K. Albert, of Albany, was sitting in the passenger seat of Suda’s 1998 Saturn when Suda crashed head-on into Michelle Burton’s Toyota 4-Runner in a "T-bone" fashion on Western Avenue, according to Guilderland Police. Burton was struck while making a left-hand turn from the eastbound lane into the mall, according witnesses at the accident, the arrest report says.

Burton was treated for minor injuries following the accident.

The Westmere Fire Department used the Jaws of Life to remove Suda and Albert from the crushed ’98 Saturn, Fire Chief William Swartz said at the time, and, while Suda was removed "quickly," it was 10 minutes before Albert was removed from the wreckage.

The damage to both cars was described by police and rescue workers as "substantial."

Rescue workers on the scene say Albert was unconscious but still alive when they transported him to Albany Medical Center Hospital, but was pronounced dead a short time after arriving at the hospital. Suda was treated only for minor injuries.

Suda, who lives at 14 Myrtle Ave. in Albany, is described by the district attorney’s office as a friend of Albert.

Guilderland Police picked up Suda from Albany Medical Center and processed him at the Guilderland Police station later that night. Initially Suda refused to submit to a chemical blood test for alcohol, but was later forced to take the test after Albany County Judge Thomas Breslin issued a compulsory order, according to the arrest report.

Suda was arraigned by Guilderland Town Judge Denise Randall and remanded to Albany County’s jail. Albany County Public Defender James Milstein represented Suda.

Milstein did not return a call for comment to The Enterprise this week.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares said in a release last week he does not believe alcohol-related fatalities are "accidents," and that long prison sentences are an appropriate deterrent in such cases.