GUILDERLAND — After pleading guilty on Tuesday to a drunk-driving fatality in front of Crossgates Mall on Western Avenue, Sasiano Suda was sentenced in Albany County Court to three-and-a-half to seven years in state prison.

Suda, 40, who is a native the south Pacific island-nation, Micronesia, also faces possible deportation after he serves his sentence, according to the sentence handed down by Acting Supreme Court Justice Dan Lamont.

Suda pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, a felony, and to driving while under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor.

Joseph K. Albert, 24, was Suda’s passenger on the morning of Nov. 17, 2006, when Suda’s Saturn collided with an SUV driven by Michelle Burton of East Berne as she tried to turn into the mall from Western Avenue. As a result of the collision, Albert was seriously injured and later pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Albany Medical Center Hospital.

Burton was treated for minor injuries on the scene.
Assistant District Attorney Mary Tanner-Richter described Albert and Suda as "friends," and said Suda did not have any previous record of alcohol-related charges.

Guilderland Police said that, three hours after the crash that killed Albert, Suda was still intoxicated by nearly double the legal limit. Suda had a blood-alcohol content of .15 percent, according to his arrest report.

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 that November morning.

Suda was listed, at the time of his arrest, as living at 14 Myrtle Ave. in Albany.
Albert, also of Albany, was sitting in the passenger seat of Suda’s 1998 Saturn when Suda crashed head-on into Burton’s Toyota 4-Runner in a "T-bone" fashion, according to Guilderland Police. Burton was struck while making a left-hand turn from the eastbound lane into the mall, according to 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 car, 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 said that Albert was unconscious but still alive when they transported him to Albany Medical Center.

Suda’s 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.
The manslaughter and DWI charges Suda pleaded guilty to were part of his plea agreement with the Albany County District Attorney David Soares’s Office. After the sentencing on Tuesday, Soares released a statement saying "DWI crimes are not merely ‘accidents.’"
He also said his office will continue to pursue "severe penalties" for such crimes.