The family of a teenager just weeks away from starting his freshman year at NYU who was killed in a hit-and-run say the jail sentence for the driver isn’t enough. NBC New York’s Greg Cergol reports.
The family of an 18-year-old college freshman struck and killed last summer in the Hamptons is reeling after the driver responsible for the teen's death was sentenced to 90 days behind bars.
Daniel Campbell left court on Thursday and went straight to serving his brief sentence behind bars. The 20-year-old pleaded guilty over the summer to leaving the scene of an Aug. 2021 crash. Campbell's vehicle had struck and killed Devesh Samtani as the 18-year-old from Hong Kong was walking from a house party while on vacation in Amagansett.
"He is going to come back and his life will be fine in a few months but for us, our family is gone for life," said Mala Samtani, the victim's mother. She asked Campbell in court why her son was left to die.
"I think the key measure was poor coping skills. I don't want to make any excuses," Campbell's lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., said after the sentencing. Burke blamed his client’s sports-related post-concussion syndrome for bad decisions the night of the crash.
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Campbell previously admitted he never stopped to try and help Samtani. Campbell's lawyer said his client accepted responsibility for what happened.
A tearful Campbell told the Samtani family on Thursday, saying "I panicked and wish I had stayed with your son. Your son’s life will be with me forever."
But Samtani's father wasn't moved.
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"He still did not admit about his speeding. I don't believe he was driving at 25 miles an hour," said Kishore Samtani.
The Samtani family was stunned back in August when they had been told that Campbell’s plea deal would bring no jail time. That's when they hired a Manhattan lawyer to lobby the judge.
"At least the 90 days will help him reconcile and think that what he did was wrong," said Kishore Samtani, who tattooed his son's name and face onto his arms after his death.
Suffolk Judge Richard Ambro insisted there was no evidence Campbell was speeding, drunk or high. He called ninety days in jail a fair and reasonable sentence.
"Ninety days is temporary. What we have isn't going to be temporary," said Viren Samtani, Devesh's brother.
Samtani’s family was joined in court Thursday by two dozen friends of the late teen. Some wore hats bearing the name of a clothing brand that the college student hoped to one day launch.
At just 18 years old, Samtani had already written a children's book about COVID-19 with plans to donate the proceeds, and was killed just two weeks before enrolling at New York University.
