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Prosecutors said Amanda Kempton stopped briefly to try to remove the victim’s suitcase from under her car, then kept going
A Virginia woman was indicted Monday for leaving the scene of a late-night Hampton Bays crash that killed Southampton resident and Netflix reality show star Sara Burack this summer.
Amanda Kempton, 32, of Fairfax was arraigned on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins.
The woman, who has local family ties in Manorville, was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail, $200,000 bond, or $1 million partially secured bond. She was freed after posting the $200,000 bond, Newsday reported.
Prosecutors said that at about 2:26 a.m. on June 19, Kempton was driving a 2004 Toyota Highlander westbound on Montuk Highway near Springville Road and Villa Paul restaurant when she struck Burack, 40, who was walking along the roadway with a suitcase.
Burack had worked as a real estate agent for Nest Seekers International, a Hamptons and New York City-based real estate agency that deals in high-end properties. Out of work at the time her death, she had been featured in the Netflix series “Million Dollar Beach House,” set in the Hamptons.
Investigators alleged that Kempton did not call 911 or render aid, but instead tried to remove Burack’s suitcase from beneath her car before fleeing the scene with the luggage still dragging underneath.
A passing motorist discovered Burack on the shoulder of the highway about 20 minutes later and called 911. She was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Southampton detectives traced the vehicle to Kempton the following day, locating her at a Manorville address. Police recovered her SUV, which showed front-end damage, and later found that she had allegedly discarded Burack’s suitcase and belongings in a dumpster nearby, prosecutors said.
Kempton’s lawyer William Keahon said at court that his client believed she had hit a traffic construction barrel and that she stopped after turning off Montauk Highway, according to the Newsday report.
The defense attorney said foggy conditions contributed to the crash.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Monday that the indictment “is an important step toward justice for Sara and her loved ones.”
“Leaving the scene of a fatal collision makes a tragic situation even worse,” Tierney said. “Rather than rendering help to Ms. Burack, the defendant allegedly left her to die.”
Kempton, who came to court in Riverhead with her father Christopher, a retired firefighter, could spend 2⅓ to 7 years in prison if convicted. She is due back in court Nov. 20.
Before her death, Burack had been embroiled in $200,000 “fight for justice” involving commission on the sale of a Hamptons property.
Top photos: Sara Burack (Facebook/Sara Burack) and Villa Paul (Facebook/Villa Paul).
