Suspect Indicted for Amagansett Fatal Hit-and-run of Hong Kong Teen

A Montauk man has been indicted for allegedly running over a teenaged tourist from Hong Kong last summer, fleeing the scene in Amagansett and leaving the victim to later die, authorities said.

A Suffolk County grand jury on December 22 indicted Daniel Campbell, who was 19 at the time of the crash, on a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident in the death of 18-year-old Devesh Samtani. Campbell pleaded not guilty Wednesday before Judge Richard Ambro.

East Hampton Town Police have said that Campbell was driving a 2012 Honda Pilot northbound on Old Stone Highway when his car struck Samanti near the corner of Eastwood Court at 11:35 p.m. August 10. Campbell fled the scene but was arrested at home about two hours later, police said. The victim was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he later died days later.

Samtani’s family said he was visiting the Hamptons — he, his cousin and a friend were at a party that was shut down by police prior to the crash — before moving to New York City to start school at New York University. His family — manufacturers of various “As Seen on TV” gadgets — said he had written and published Ash’s Birthday Party, a children’s book designed to help kids better understand the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Both his family and his high school are reportedly setting up charitable foundations in his name. Campbell is due back in court on February 15. He faces up to seven years in prison, if convicted.