ANDERSON — An Anderson man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday for driving drunk and causing a crash that left two men dead in August.

Madison Superior 3 Judge Thomas Newman sentenced Bryan Pancero, 28, to two 20-year sentences on two counts of causing death when operating a vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent or more, a Class B felony punishable by six to 20 years. Newman sentenced Pancero to three years in prison for causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle, a Class D felony that carries a possible sentence of six months to three years behind bars.

All of the sentences will be served at the same time because the crime stems from a single incident, his public defender, Bryan Williams, previously said. Seven other charges were dismissed because they amounted to double jeopardy against Pancero. He pleaded guilty April 28.

Pancero apologized for causing the Aug. 12 crash along Scatterfield Road that killed Douglas Hicks, 23, of Greenfield, and Jamie Coddington, whose age and hometown weren’t available. Police said Pancero had a blood-alcohol content of 0.18 percent, more than double Indiana’s legal limit of 0.08 percent to drive, when he crashed the 1991 Isuzu Impulse he was driving.

“I really am truly sorry for this,” Pancero said. “After that first week (after the crash), I couldn’t eat nothing. I lost 10, 15 pounds. I’m sick to my stomach right now just thinking about it. I got to think about it every day of my life ... I can’t say I’m sorry enough. I don’t know if it means anything to anybody, but I really am sorry.”

Deputy Prosecutor Steve Koester argued for the maximum sentence because of Pancero’s lengthy criminal history, including a previous burglary conviction. Pancero was also on both probation and parole at the time of the crash.

“This will be your third felony conviction, your sixth criminal conviction,” Koester said. “You’ve had your license suspended eight times.

“If he would have simply followed the rules of probation and simply followed the rules of parole ... he just wouldn’t be here.”

According to a probable cause affidavit:

Pancero, Coddington, Hicks and two other men, Michael S. Smith and Keith Stephens, were drinking beer from a keg at Smith’s Eighth Street home when Smith got into an argument with his girlfriend. The men decided to take the keg and move the party to Pancero’s home.

Pancero later told investigators he was northbound on Scatterfield, near Indiana 32, when he heard a “pop,” lost control and smashed into the tree. Investigators believe Pancero was going between 67 and 76 mph in the 45 mph zone at the time of the crash. Pancero told officers he drank four or five 20-ounce glasses of beer.

Stephens was riding in the front seat, and the other three were riding in the back. Stephens and Smith were also injured.

Coddington’s mother, Linda Coddington, asked Newman to give Pancero the maximum sentence.

“Judge Newman, I know nothing will bring back my son,” she said, “but by giving Bryan Pancero the maximum sentences, (it) will help protect others from him and (give) him time to realize how his mistakes have taken two lives and hurt many others.”

But Williams, Pancero’s attorney, argued that his client’s remorse should be a mitigating factor in determining his sentence.