NY Developer Who Left Passenger On Road To Die After DWI CrashTo Be Sentenced: DA

SAG HARBOR, NY — A Manhattan real estate developer who drove drunk, caused a fatal 2015 crash and then left his passenger on the road in Sag Harbor to die will be sentenced Wednesday, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.

Sean P. Ludwick, 45, will be sentenced at noon in First District Court in Central Islip by State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho, Spota said.

Camacho will sentence Ludwick to 3 to 9 years in state prison for the top count of aggravated vehicular homicide, 1 to 3 years for leaving the crash scene and 1 year for aggravated driving while intoxicated, Spota said.

The sentences will be served concurrently, Spota said.

Ludwick, waived his right to appeal the conviction, Spota said.

Family members of the victim, Paul Hansen of Sag Harbor, are expected to attend the sentencing; Hansen, 53, died at the scene in front of his house on Rolling Hill Court where Ludwick drove his Porsche convertible into a utility pole on August 30, 2015, Spota said.

Ludwick pleaded guilty in August to aggravated vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and aggravated driving while intoxicated, Spota said.

Ludwick apologized during his plea to Hansen's family, Spota said.

“The defendant’s blood taken five hours after the crash had a blood alcohol level of .18 percent, and the collision reconstruction by Sag Harbor Village Police, the New York State Police Forensic ID & Collision Reconstruction Unit and the district attorney’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau we believe clearly established that the defendant left the scene in his damaged Porsche, traveling more than a block away where police found him and his disabled car on Woodvale Street,” DA Spota said.

In March, a judge denied a motion to dismiss charges, according to Spota; an application was made by Ludwick's defense attorney William Keahon seeking dismissal of the indictment.

According to the judge's decision . . ."the court finds sufficient legal evidence was adduced to establish the commission by the defendant of each offense charged in the indictment."

In addition, the judge said the instructions given by the Spota and the assistant district attorney to the grand jury were "sufficient" and release of the grand jury minutes was "not necessary."

According to Camacho's decision, the defense filed a motion to suppress the chemical test results of his blood at the time for crash, alleging "misrepresentations;" the judge denied that motion.

When Ludwick was arrested, his charges included: two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident, driving with a blood alcohol level over .18 percent and reckless driving, among others.

In January, 2016, Justice Camacho ordered Ludwick held without bail; the defendant was incarcerated in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, Spota said.

At the time, Justice Camacho remarked that after listening to the defense attorney at the time 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.

An investigation found that Ludwick had 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 by United States Marshals Service and other federal authorities in response to a bench warrant issued by Justice Camacho.

He was arrested 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 originally pleaded not guilty to the 13-count indictment with charges including aggravated vehicular homicide at his arraignment earlier in 2016, according to the DA.

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.

Keahon could not immediately be reached for comment.