Sean Ludwick to plead guilty in fatal crash

Developer Sean Ludwick agreed to plead guilty to killing his friend and Douglas Elliman broker Paul Hansen in a drunk driving accident in the Hamptons in 2015, along with other charges.

The conditions of the plea deal weren’t immediately clear, but prosecutor Raymond Varuolo told the East Hampton Star that Ludwick “is going upstate. He is going to be there a while.” Ludwick was indicted in late 2015 on seven felony charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide. He is facing up to 32 years in prison.

Prosecution and defense attorneys reached the deal after a 21-minute conference Tuesday. Ludwick is set to plead guilty on Aug. 15.

Prosecutors allege that Ludwick killed his friend, Douglas Elliman broker Paul Hansen, in a late-night car crash in August 2015 in the Hamptons, dragged his body out of the car wreck, dumped it by the side of the road and threw his personal belongings in the woods. Four hours after the crash, he had a blood alcohol level of .18 percent, according to prosecutors.

Ludwick was initially freed on $1 million bail, but was jailed in January 2016 after plotting to flee the country while on vacation in Puerto Rico. He reportedly told his sailing instructor about plans to move to South America, who promptly tipped off the authorities.

Ludwick became a household name after launching the development firm BlackHouse Development in 2007 with Saif Sumaida and Ashwin Verma.  The partners later fell out. [Easthampton Star] — Konrad Putzier