Drunken driver gets 32 years for deaths of 15-year-olds

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The intoxicated driver who struck and killed two teens on an Anchorage sidewalk has been sentenced to 32 years prison.

Stacey Graham received his sentence Friday in a crowded downtown courtroom, where he tearfully told parents of the 15-year-old girls, "As a father myself, I know the love one has for his children. I killed your babies," KTUU-TV reported (http://ow.ly/IFtya ).

"My hurt in that truth," he said, "is unimaginable."

The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Brooke McPheters and Jordyn Durr. On Aug. 9, 2013, the teenagers were returning from a shopping trip to the Dimond Center mall and were walking along Abbot Road when Graham's Toyota Tacoma veered off the busy south Anchorage road and slammed into them.

Graham's blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit for drivers. According to statements in court records, he had been seen passing and tailgating other vehicles shortly before the deadly crash.

It was a selfish decision for Graham to drink and drive, Brooke's mother, Shanna McPheters, told the judge.

"He may have been a good man prior, but none of that matters because Brooke and Jordyn were good girls and had their whole lives ahead of them," she said.

Anchorage police Sgt. John McKinnon said in court that of hundreds of drunken driving crashes he's responded to, the one that killed the girls affected him the most. Chief Mark Mew asked Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby for a stiff sentence to scare people from driving while drunk.

Saxby called his sentence the harshest of its kind. He noted Graham would be eligible for discretionary parole after 20 years.

Graham is scheduled to appear in court May 8 for a restitution hearing.

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Information from: KTUU-TV, http://www.ktuu.com