Prosecutors said that after a night of heavy drinking, Conant and Patch decided to race their vehicles down a Great Falls street in November 2004. When the vehicles crested a hill, the pickup Patch was driving in the wrong lane crashed head-on into a car driven by Michael Moore.

Moore, 19, died at the scene. A passenger, 18-year-old Joseph Leffler, suffered crippling injuries, Cascade County Attorney Brant Light said Thursday.

The judge offered victims' family members an opportunity to speak at the hearing.

April Leffler, Joseph's younger sister, read a letter on behalf of her mother, which said, "I can forgive you, but I can't forget." Joseph Leffler did not want to attend the hearing.

"The brother I looked up to most is not my brother anymore," April Leffler told the court. "We have suffered a lot."

Conant and Patch pleaded guilty to the charges earlier.

Patch will begin serving his sentence after completing the 10 years he is currently serving for violating conditions of his parole in a previous felony theft case.

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