Friends Raise Funds for Two Young Sag Harbor Boys Left Behind After Fatal Crash Last Summer

The South Fork was rocked last summer by a tragic accident that left New York State developer Sean Ludwick behind bars and took the life of his passenger, Paul Hansen, 53, a Douglas Ellliman real estate agent, who, according Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, was left in the road to die.

And now, the community has opened its hearts to the two young sons, Hunter and Austin, Hansen left behind.

Friends and loved ones have been donating to a GoFundMe page that features a raffle for a new new 55” Samsung 6600 flatscreen TV, with the winner to be announced on Friday, just in time for the Super Bowl.

The Sag Harbor-based LUAP Foundation was organized to spread awareness about the drunk driving ”epidemic” especially on the East End, according to its Facebook page.

The GoFundMe page had raised $4,525 of a $5,000 goal by Wednesday afternoon.

“The LUAP Foundation is raising money to benefit the Hunter and Austin Hansen Trust. We are holding a drawing for a 55” Samsung flatscreen TV for one lucky winner just in time for Super Bowl 50,” the page reads.

The drawing will take place at 4 p.m. on Friday at 34 Bay Street, Suite 202 in Sag Harbor. The event will be live streamed as well.

Each $25 donations affords one “chance” in the drawing; there is no limit to the number of chances allowed per individual.

The winner need not be present. Donations for the event will be directed to Bridgehampton Nationl Bank in the name of the Hunter & Austin Hansen Trust, organizers said.

“On behalf of the LUAP Foundation and Paul Hansen’s family, we thank Lori Levine, Founder and CEO of Flying Television, for her very generous donation of the flatscreen TV,” the page read.

On August 30, Paul Hansen, 53 a real estate agent for Douglas Elliman, was a passenger in car driven by prominent New York City real estate developer Sean Ludwick, 42, when he crashed his 2013 Porsche into a telephone pole in front of Hansen’s Sag Harbor home, according to police.

Last week, a judge ruled that Ludwick will await trial behind bars on a 13-count indictment,, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said after he allegedly tried to buy a boat and flee.

Justice Fernando Camacho ordered Ludwick held without bail; the defendant is incarcerated in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, Spota said.

Justice Camacho remarked that after listening to the defense attorney, Benjamin Brafman, and the Chief of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, John Scott Prudenti, he was ”not confident that any amount of bail would guarantee the defendant’s return to court,” Spota said.

Aninvestigation found that Ludwick performed internet searches, and accessed news stories with information of interest to a person contemplating the life of a fugitive, Spota said.

Examples of the stories include: “Five Countries with no U.S. Extradition Treaty,” “Panama —United States Relations,” “Are The High Seas A Criminal Paradise?”

According to Spota, Ludwick,was returned to Suffolk County last week by United States Marshals Service and other federal authorities in response to a bench warrant issued by State Supreme Court Justice Camacho.

He was arrested last Tuesday night at his home on Brick Kiln Road in Sag Harbor by Southampton Town Police, Spota said.

Ludwick, while in Puerto Rico, allegedly made inquiries about purchasing a boat large enough to travel to South America, and also had allegedly made or was trying to make arrangements to take sailing lessons, Spota said.

Ludwick pleaded not guilty to the13-count indictment with charges including aggravated vehicular homicide at his arraignment earlier this month, according to the DA.

State Supreme Court Justice Camacho explained before remanding Ludwick to jail that the court had been notified of Ludwick’s activity in Puerto Rico by employees of the island hotel where he was a guest, and that the information prompted the immediate issuance of a bench warrant to compel Ludwick to return to court as soon as possible.An investigation by the Vehicular Crimes Bureau established that Ludwick allegedly removed the victim’s body from his sports car and then tried to drive away from the scene, Spota said.

The heavily damaged Porsche and Ludwick, who police said was intoxicated, were found about a quarter mile away, the DA said.

Spota, in announcing the indictment, said Ludwick’s blood had a blood-alcohol content of .18 percent four hours after the fatal crash.

The indictment charges him with 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, Spota said.

The top charge of aggravated vehicular homicide is punishable by a sentence in state prison of eight and one-third to 25 years, DA Spota said. Leaving the scene of a fatal crash is punishable by a maximum of two and one-third to seven years in an upstate correctional facility.