Sara Burack (YouTube/Entertainment Tonight)
A woman from Virginia is accused of hitting a real estate agent in the Hamptons, a well-known affluent New York summer vacation spot, and then driving away. She reportedly claimed she thought she had hit a traffic cone.
Amanda Kempton, 32, is alleged to have struck 40-year-old Sara Burack while Burack was walking on a road in Hampton Bays early Thursday morning, according to the New York Post. Prosecutors have charged Kempton with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in a fatality.
Burack, noted for her work as a high-end real estate agent and her appearance on Netflix’s “Million Dollar Beach House” in 2022, was walking westbound on Montauk Highway with a pink suitcase when she was hit. Police found her unconscious shortly before 3 a.m. on Thursday and took her to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
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In a Saturday arraignment, Kempton — a marine biologist — pleaded not guilty and was released from custody after her family, who live in the Hamptons hamlet of Manorville, put up collateral in lieu of the $100,000 bond set by the court, the New York Post reported.
Prosecutors reportedly argued she was a flight risk because she was supposed to return to Virginia for a wedding on Saturday.
Kempton reportedly held back tears as she pleaded not guilty. Her attorney, William Keahon, told the court that conditions were foggy at the time, and Kempton didn”t see Burack at all, believing instead that she had actually hit a traffic cone.
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According to the New York Post report, Kempton discovered Burack’s pink wheeled suitcase lodged under her car after arriving at a friend’s house.
The collision reportedly sparked a search that ultimately led police to Kempton
Kempton faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Neither Keahon nor representatives from Southampton immediately responded to Law&Crime’s request for comment.
