Raymond Kalenka of Williston Park was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison in the death of Dean LaLima on Aug. 12th, 2012.
Police say the 41-year old Lalima was drunk and lying in the road in Williston Park when Kalenka ran him over.
According to investigators, Kalenka was driving his silver 2006 Mercedes-Benz northbound on Broad Street when he hit LaLima, who was returning home from his job as a manager at Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Garden City.
The victim suffered a fractured skull, collarbone and pelvis, and crushing injuries to his head and legs. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Prosecutors say after running over LaLima, Kalenka continued driving to his home on Yale Street about 500 feet from the scene and removed a piece of the driver's side inner fender liner that had been knocked loose when he hit LaLima. The removed piece has never been found. Kalenka then returned to the scene and drove away without notifying police.
The Nassau County Police Department's Homicide Squad arrested Kalenka at his home two days later based on physical evidence left at the scene and witness statements. The judge rejected the defense's claims that Kalenka was unaware that he had hit a person.
Kalenka was convicted of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death and Tampering With Physical Evidence after a two-week trial in August.
"This defendant had every opportunity to remain at the scene and contact the police, but he chose to leave a dying man in the street and hide the evidence of what he had done," Nassau County DA Rice Kahtleen Rice said. "Mr. Kalenka showed no regard for the victim's condition after the incident, only saving his own skin."
