A Somber Courtroom as Amagansett Hit-and-Run Driver Is Sentenced

The two families impacted by the 2021 Amagansett hit-and-run accident that killed 17-year-old Devesh Samtani were in the same county criminal courtroom, likely for the last time, on Thursday, November 3.

The driver who fled, Daniel Campbell, 21, of Montauk and Westchester, was sentenced to 90 days in county jail, plus 90 days of community service, after which he will serve five years of probation. Campbell was accompanied by his parents, who have attended every court date; they sat in the back row of the courtroom.

Also seated in the courtroom were about 30 friends and family members of Devesh Samtani.

Samtani’s mother, Mala Samtani, sat in the second row next to her husband, Kishore Samtani. On her lap was a framed color photograph of her son, which she has brought to every court date Campbell has had.

Campbell spoke before Justice Richard Ambro pronounced sentence. His statement, which was directed to the Samtani family seated in the courtroom, was preceded by statements to the court from Samtani’s mother, father and cousin.

Ambro also spoke at length, explaining the reasoning behind the sentence.

Originally, when Campbell pleaded guilty, Ambro had promised him no jail time. That outraged the victim’s family, who then retained New York attorney Benjamin Brafman. Ambro subsequently announced in court that he was adding three months of jail time to the sentence.

Samtani’s teenage cousin, Kabir Kurani, was walking with Samtani when the victim was struck by Campbell’s 2012 Honda Pilot, in which there were nine passengers, including Campbell’s 17-year-old sister. The passengers were friends of the sister.

The accident happened on Old Stone Highway the night of August 10, 2021, after a large teen party on Timber Lane that had lit up social media was broken up by East Hampton Town Police, dispersing crowds of teens onto the unlit roadways in the area. Campbell had been driving his sister from Montauk to the party but arrived after police had started breaking it up.

The sister’s friends then piled into the vehicle.

Also on their way to the party were Samtani and his cousin. Samtani, whose family lives in Hong Kong as well as London, was living with his cousin’s family, just days away from starting his freshman year at New York University. He was staying at the Kurani family’s summer rental in Sagaponack at the time.

Samtani and Kurani were also turned away from the party. But unlike Campbell and the nine passengers in the Pilot, they had no transportation. They began walking single file north on the narrow roadway, which has no shoulder and no streetlamps, hoping to find an area where they could get cell service to call an Uber.

That’s when Campbell struck the 17-year-old.

Campbell admitted in court on August 6, when he pleaded guilty, that he struck Samtani with the 2012 Honda Pilot he was driving, stopped briefly about 200 yards away, then drove off.

“He not only killed my son, but he killed my whole family,” Mala Samtani told the court. She said she felt like she has been sentenced to prison for life, a life she must endure without her son. “He was the shining light of our house.”

“My son used to love Christmas,” she said, adding that she lovingly called him Devu. “I can never celebrate Christmas now.”

Kurani called his cousin his “brother.” “All the dreams and aspirations we had together vanished,” Kurani said, because of Campbell’s actions.

“When I got the call I was in Hong Kong. That was my longest flight,” Kishore Samtani said. “Our lives will never be the same.”

As the three spoke, sobbing could be heard from supporters in the courtroom.

Throughout the statements from Samtani’s family, Campbell looked directly at each speaker.

“I have always wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything,” Campbell said when it was his time to speak, looking at the dead teen’s parents across the courtroom. He said that his attorneys, Edward Burke Jr. and Anthony DiFiore, had ordered him not to have any contact with the family, a point Burke had made earlier to the court.

He spoke in a bit of a monotone, reading from a folded piece of paper. He began to cry as he said, “You guys have been able to show me how smart and brave, what a good person he was.” He said he would give anything to be able to undo the events of that night.

“I read every single story on the news. Every single story,” he said. “Millions of times.” He paused, sobbing. “The loss of your son’s life will be with me forever. I will never forget him. I know you may not be able to ever forgive me.” He finished by saying, “So sorry, guys. Thank you for listening to me today.”

Ambro spoke before he pronounced sentence.

“There has been a lot of media attention around this case, and social media,” he said. While the media coverage has been “mostly” accurate, he said, the same cannot be said for social media, which he said has been “inaccurate, unfair or outright false.”

He said that when he made his original promise of no jail time, he had not yet been given the final report from the Probation Department. When he received that final report, as well as information provided by Brafman, he learned that Campbell had three prior accidents before Samtani died, including one in which he was going the wrong way on a one-way street.

He also said that, contrary to social media reports, as well as some in the mainstream media, there was no evidence produced during the investigation of the case by District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office that Campbell had acted recklessly in any way before the accident.

“Despite wild claims in social media, Mr. Campbell was not drunk, was not high on drugs, and was not driving recklessly,” Ambro said. “And no matter how many times speeding is alleged, the district attorney’s office opted not to charge it — and there is no allegation of speeding.”

He said there was no indication of “criminality” involved in Samtani’s death. The crime for which Campbell was being punished, he said, was for leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

He then pronounced the sentence. Court officers handcuffed Campbell behind his back.

“Thank you, your honor,” Campbell said.

“Good luck to you,” Ambro replied, and Campbell was led away.