HOT SPRINGS -- A man convicted of drunken driving has received concurrent 15-year prison sentences for the deaths of his two children last August.

Clinton Phelps, 29, of Hot Springs was driving with his children in the car Aug. 24, 2009, when his Dodge Neon rolled about 2 miles south of Hot Springs on S.D. Highway 71.

His blood alcohol content at the time was determined to be .20; .08 is the level at which a person is considered to be intoxicated under state law.

Faralynn Phelps, 6, was pronounced dead at the scene; her brother, 6-year-old Adrian Phelps, was pronounced dead three days later.

Judge Thomas Trimble said that although Phelps may have been a good soldier and a good father, “He caused the deaths of his children in a criminal fashion. … This didn’t have to happen. It is a horrible loss that started out with drunk driving.”

Phelps served in Iraq with the U.S. military.

Trimble sentenced Phelps on Friday to 15 years on each count, with credit for 330 days served in Fall River County Jail, and court costs.