A Virginia woman charged with the fatal hit-and-run death of Hamptons realtor Sara Burack believed she had hit a traffic cone, her lawyer told a court Saturday morning.
Amanda Kempton, 32, a marine biologist, pleaded not guilty and was released from police custody following the hearing, during which officials announced that her family had posted collateral in lieu of the $100,000 bail.
Her family resides in Manorville, a hamlet in Suffolk County on New York’s Long Island known as the “gateway to the Hamptons.”
If Kempton is convicted of leaving the scene of a felony motor vehicle accident, he faces up to seven years in prison.
Kempton choked back tears as prosecutor MacDonald Drane requested the high bail, describing her as a flight risk after fleeing the scene, according to The New York Post. She was scheduled to attend a wedding in Virginia on Saturday. Kempton’s lawyer, William Keahon, told the court that alcohol is not a factor in the case, despite the fact that she spent time at a tavern prior to the incident on Thursday.
Burack, a luxury real estate agent who appeared on Netflix’s Million Dollar Beach House, was walking in the right lane of the Montauk Highway with a pink wheelie suitcase when she was struck by Kempton’s vehicle.
Kempton’s attorney stated that the conditions were foggy, and she did not see the victim, believing instead that she had hit a traffic cone.
After leaving the scene, she arrived at a friend’s house and discovered the suitcase lodged beneath her car.
At 2:45 a.m., Southampton Town Police and the New York State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit responded to a 911 call. They discovered Burack, 40, unconscious on Montauk Highway near the Villa Paul Restaurant.
Burack suffered severe head trauma and several broken bones. Despite being rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital, Burack died from her injuries later that afternoon.
Kempton was tracked down by authorities using a license plate reader, and her vehicle was found at the family home with a damaged front end.
