Crime & Safety

Closing Arguments Heard in Fatal Williston Park Hit-and-Run

Raymond Kalenka defense says case a matter of "unconsciousness of guilt" in Dean LaLima's death.

Closing arguments in the fatal hit-and-run grand jury trial that resulted in the death of Albertson resident Dean LaLima were heard on Tuesday morning, with the defense attempting to portray the incident as a simple accident and not a conscious choice that led to the driver of the car fleeing the scene.

Raymond Kalenka, 46, of Williston Park, had testified in his own defense Monday afternoon at the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola as he is accused of allegedly running over LaLima near the intersection of Syracuse Street and Broad Street in the early a.m. hours of Aug. 12, 2012 and fled the scene.

Kalenka’s defense attorney, Brian Davis, attempted to present LaLima, the deceased manager of Garden City-based Grimaldi’s Pizza, as an alcoholic who could have collapsed or fallen down in the street, hitting his head before Kalenka’s car ran him over, masking any signs of trauma caused by an impact to the pavement.

Medical examiners had testified earlier that there was still alcohol in LaLima’s stomach when he died and Davis stated in his closing arguments that LaLima suffered from alcoholism, receiving treatment at a rehab facility, did not have a driver’s license and had been drinking that night.

“He was so intoxicated that he couldn’t ride his bike,” Davis said, referring to reports of LaLima having to leave his bicycle in another location. “He was laying there on the ground.”

Davis noted that the complete set of black clothing worn by LaLima the night of the accident on the ground would have made LaLima’s body difficult to see as Kalenka was driving home. Davis added that there was an “absence of blood and tissue” on Kalenka’s Mercedes, so LaLima’s body could not have been dragged 12 ft, a figure put forth by the prosecution.

“Accidents happen,” Davis said, saying that if LaLima had been standing in the road at the point of impact, there would have been more damage to the grill area of Kalenka’s car and referring to the “unconsciousness of guilt” of an accident by his client.

Prosecutor Katie Zizza stated that Kalenka “had every reason to know that he hit a human body,” as he had driven down that road numerous times in his life and would have noticed a strange bump in the road that hand not existed prior, noting that the Mercedes tires had flattened LaLima’s face and crushed his kneecaps and legs.

“Common sense tells you this had to take significant force,” Zizza said. “The defendant felt something different than a speedbump; he felt a human body. He felt a human body under his car. He denies it now. He knows there are no speedbumps. (He) saw Dean LaLima’s body in the roadway. That’s a noticeable obstruction; a significant obstruction.”

“Why go to your house?” Davis said, referring to Kalenka’s actions following the impact. “He is right in front of his house (for all to see),” attempting to discern what is wrong with his car.

According to his own testimony Monday, Kalenka, who was going through a divorce and was going to spend the night at his parents’ residence on Park Avenue, arrived at his Yale Street home and retrieved a shaving kit and shirt, he stated that the car made a “scraping noise” after leaving the driveway. While inspecting his forward tires as the car was parked in the middle of the street, Kelenka’s neighbor Christopher Post pulled up after returning home from Dunkin’ Donuts in Mineola.

Post testified Monday that he observed Kalenka on the ground tugging on something within the wheel well of the car, which the prosecution says was the inner plastic lining of the wheel well which had come dislodged following the impact and which has disappeared.

“The defendant tried to do just that – deceive,” Zizza said, noting pieces of the liner were broken away at the seems.

Kalenka stated in testimony that he could not see anything in the wheel well and the noise stopped after he then drove over Willis Avenue and onto Charles Street, noticing on Sunday that the piece of plastic was missing and that he could see that the car’s windshield wiper reservoir “was exposed.” He stated that he did not tamper with the vehicle or have it cleaned.

“He knew it, he just didn’t care,” Zizza said of Kalenka’s actions after the accident. “He couldn’t be bothered with it; there was too much going on in his life.”

Judge Jerald S. Carter stated that he would issue a verdict in the case on Thursday afternoon. Kalenka has been out of jail on $25,000 bail since August 2012. He is charged with leaving the scene of an accident with death and evidence tampering. He faces a maximum sentence of two-and-a-half to seven years in prison if found guilty.

Outside the courtroom, LaLima’s father John said that he “would like everybody that knew (Dean) to show up for the verdict on Thursday.”

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