Raymond Kalenka sentenced for leaving scene of hit-run death

A Williston Park man was sentenced Thursday to 11/3 to 4 years in prison for leaving the scene of an accident after his car struck a man who was lying in the roadway in the early morning hours.

Raymond Kalenka, 46, was sentenced in Nassau County Court in Mineola by Judge Jerald Carter, who presided at Kalenka's nonjury trial in July. The maximum sentence was 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison.

Prosecutors said it is not clear why Dean LaLima, 41, of Albertson, was lying on Broad Street in Williston Park on Aug. 12, 2012, before he was hit by Kalenka. LaLima was intoxicated and had a blood-alcohol level of .26 percent, more than three times the legal limit of .08 percent, according to court testimony.

LaLima, who was returning home from his job as a manager of a pizzeria in Garden City, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kalenka was not charged in his death.

"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," District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement.

Kalenka's lawyer, Brian Davis of Garden City, said after the sentencing that his client apologized in court to the LaLima family and expressed his remorse for his crime.

Outside court, the victim's father, John LaLima, 66, of Albertson, said the sentence "was not adequate" and that state law should be toughened for hit-and-run drivers.

"Most of them are intoxicated. That's the reason they leave the scene, because they know if you leave the scene and you get caught days later, the most they can charge you with is a slap on the wrist. If you stayed and you were found impaired, you're looking at manslaughter or murder," the father said.

Kalenka was arrested at his home two days after the accident, "based on physical evidence left at the scene and witness statements," Rice said in her statement.