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Alleged Drunk Driver Who Left Passenger To Die Counts Money In Court
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 5, 2015
Modified Sep 5, 2015
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 5, 2015
Modified Sep 5, 2015
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Last weekend, a Manhattan developer who crashed his Porsche into a utility pole in the Hamptons allegedly dragged his dying passenger out of the car and left him for dead outside his house. Suspect Sean Ludwick, 42, appeared in Southampton Town Justice Court on Friday, but he apparently was only partially paying attention. The Post writes: "Looking bored, he pulled a folded, two-inch-thick wad of bills from his pocket and counted them for several minutes."
The East Hampton Star also noted the tone-deaf money counting: "At one point he pulled out a wad of cash, counting out the bills as he waited." The family of victim Paul Hansen, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Sag Harbor, were left aghast: "We have come to expect nothing from Mr. Ludwick," Hansen’s brother-in-law, Tom Morrissey, told The Post. "No humanity. No courtesy for human life." Ludwick's attorney, Daniel Ollen, retorted, "He’s distraught."
Ludwick had crashed his Porsche into a utility pole steps from Hansen's house. He was arrested soon after when police found him with his vehicle some distance down the road. Hansen's friend says that before he fled the scene, Ludwick removed Hansen's wallet and identification and threw it into the woods as he tried to drive away.
A friend of Hansen's told us: "It's almost physically impossible for [Hansen] to be thrown from the car. He didn't go through the windshield. He didn't go straight up into the air and land. He was taken from the car. This is something that law enforcement alluded to: Sean Ludwick pulled him out and dumped his body and left him to die. He didn't call 911, he tried to cover up what happened."
Ludwick has been charged with DWI and "leaving the scene of an incident without reporting that involves death."
"It’s interesting that his lawyer said he’s distraught but he’s clearly not, if he’s sitting inside court counting money," a friend of the Hansen family added to the Post. "The biggest fear the family has is that he’ll be able to pay his way out of trouble."
Tagged
drunk driving
Hamptons
long island
paul hansen
sag harbor
sean ludwick
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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