DA: Sean Ludwick Moved Paul Hansen's Body After Crash

Sean Ludwick, a New York City real estate developer, who is charged in fatal hit-and-run crash in Sag Harbor last summer, moved the body of his passenger, Paul Hansen, after the crash, leaving Hansen to die just feet from the driveway of his home, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said Monday.

Ludwick pleaded not guilty to a 13-count indictment with charges including aggravated vehicular homicide at his arraignment on Monday, according to the DA.

Suffolk County District Attorney Vehicular Crimes Bureau Chief John Scott Prudenti told Justice Fernando Camacho that Ludwick’s blood had a BAC of .18 percent four hours after the August 30 crash that killed his passenger, 53-year-old Hansen, according to the DA.

According to Prudenti, forensic evidence from the crash investigation established Ludwick removed Hansen’s body from his car and drove away, leaving him within feet of his driveway on Rolling Hill Court East, where Ludwick hit a utility pole at a curve.

The mangled rims of the damaged Porsche left a trail of gouged pavement to Woodvale Street, a quarter-mile from the crash, where Southampton Town police found Ludwick standing by the wreckage when they placed him under arrest for DWI, according to the DA.

Ludwick, who is currently free on $1 million bond, was directed on Monday by the court to surrender his passport.

The indictment charges include: aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, aggravated driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene, reckless driving, speeding, failure to stay in a single lane and driving on the shoulder or slope of the roadway, according to the DA.

The top charge of aggravated vehicular homicide is punishable by a sentence in state prison of over eight to 25 years, Spota said.

Leaving the scene of a crash resulting in serious injury or death is punishable by a maximum of over two to seven years in an upstate correctional facility, according to Spota.