A Virginia woman arrested for the fatal hit-and-run death of Hamptons realtor Sara Burack thought 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 after the hearing, at which officials stated that her family had posted collateral in lieu of the $100,000 bail.
Her family lives in Manorville, a hamlet in Suffolk County on New York’s Long Island, known as the “gateway to the Hamptons.”
Kempton faces a possible seven years in prison if found guilty of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which there is a felony.
As prosecutor MacDonald Drane requested the high bail, Kempton choked back tears as she was described as a flight risk, having fled the scene, The New York Post reports. She was supposed to attend a wedding in Virginia on Saturday.
Kempton’s lawyer, William Keahon, told the court that alcohol is not considered a factor in the case, though she had spent time at a tavern before the incident on Thursday.
Luxury real estate agent Burack, known for her appearance on Netflix’s Million Dollar Beach House, was walking in the roadway on the right-hand lane of the Montauk Highway, with a pink wheelie suitcase, when she was struck by Kempton’s vehicle.
Conditions were foggy, and Kempton did not see the victim, her attorney said, believing instead that she had hit a traffic cone.
After leaving the scene, she arrived at a friend’s home and found the suitcase lodged underneath her vehicle.
Southampton Town Police and the New York State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit responded to a 911 call around 2:45 a.m., finding Burack, 40, unconscious on Montauk Highway near the Villa Paul Restaurant.
Burack suffered severe head trauma and multiple broken bones. Despite being rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital, Burack succumbed to her injuries later in the afternoon.
Authorities traced Kempton through a license plate reader and found her vehicle at the family home with a damaged front end.
