Driver in Noyac Fatal Accident Free After Posting Bond

Police investigate the scene of a fatal accident in Noyac on Sunday morning. Gavin Menu photo

By Stephen J. Kotz

The driver of a car who tried to flee after his car crashed into a telephone pole, killing his passenger, on Rolling Hill Court East in Noyac early Sunday has been released from jail after posting a $1 million bond.

Sean P. Ludwick, 42, a real estate developer who has homes in Manhattan and on Brick Kiln Road in Noyac, is facing charges of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and felony leaving the scene of an accident with a fatality following the crash that killed Paul. G. Hansen, 53, a well-known Sag Harbor real estate agent and builder.

Sean Ludwick

Police said Mr. Ludwick’s 2013 Porsche convertible slammed into the pole at a sharp turn in the road, just two doors down from Mr. Hansen’s own home at 20 Rolling Woods Court East, shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday.

Police, who received several calls from neighbors reporting the crash, found Mr. Hansen lying by the side of the road. He was declared dead at the scene.

Det. Sgt. Lisa Costa of the town police said instead of remaining there, Mr. Ludwick tried to flee, leaving a trail of debris and fluids from his damaged vehicle first to Highview Drive and then to Woodvale Street, where officers found him standing outside his damaged vehicle.

Det. Sgt. Costa said Mr. Ludwick “did not cooperate” with police. According to court papers, police said Mr. Ludwick smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred when they tried to question him and he swayed and stumbled when he tried to walk. Police said he refused to submit to chemical tests and instead asked that he be allowed to speak to his attorney. Police were later able to draw blood.

On Wednesday, The New York Post, citing anonymous sources with ties to town police, reported that police believe Mr. Hansen was partially ejected after the crash and that Mr. Ludwick pulled him from the vehicle before driving off.

Det. Sgt. Costa on Wednesday evening the crash remain under investigation and town police were working with the New York State Police Forensic ID and Reconstruction Unit and the Suffolk County Medical Examiners Office to try to determine what happened.

Family members, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that while investigators had not told them directly they were pursuing such a scenario, they believed it was possible.

“Paul always wore a seatbelt,” said one family member. “We didn’t understand how he could be ejected.”

Family members said Mr. Hansen and Mr. Ludwick were not close friends, but that their sons knew one another.

At Mr. Ludwick’s arraignment on Monday, his attorney, Daniel J. Ollen of Manhattan, objected to Justice Deborah Kooperstein’s decision that his client be held on either $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond. Mr. Ludwick posted the bond on Tuesday, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Hansen was an agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Sag Harbor and also owned his own company, Golden Home Management, and built spec houses. Mr. Ludwick is a principal in Blackhouse Development, a New York real estate firm.

Mr. Ludwick is a principal in Blackhouse Development, a New York real estate company, and has had several run-ins with the law. According to Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, Mr. Ludwick was convicted of driving while impaired in New York County in August 2009 and plead guilty to harassment in the second degree, a violation, also in New York County, in April 2014.

Police are continuing to investigate the accident and have requested that anyone with information call them at (631) 702-2230.