Father Of Teen Killed In Hit-And-Run: 'My Life Is Not Coming Back'

AMAGANSETT, NY — A devastated father whose son was killed in an Amagansett hit-and-run last year is crying out for justice.

Kishore Samtani, whose son Devesh Samtani — affectionately known as Devu, he said — died after the crash last August, is traveling to Long Island from Hong Kong Friday for a court conference in Riverhead before Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro.

Ambro is expected to rule in the case involving Daniel Campbell, now 20, of Montauk, who was charged in the hit-and-run.

On Aug. 13, 2021, Devesh, 18 died after the hit-and-run crash in Amagansett four days earlier.

The crash happened at 11:35 p.m. on Old Stone Highway near Eastwood Court when Campbell, who was driving north in a 2012 Honda Pilot, struck Devesh, who was walking in the road, police said. Campbell drove off and was arrested at his home at 2:43 a.m. Wednesday morning, police said.

Campbell was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident. The SUV he was driving reportedly had 10 people inside, according to the East Hampton Star. Samtani was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he died, police said.

Now, Kishore Samtani is pleading for accountability. He wrote a letter to Judge Ambro, explaining that after being separated by the pandemic, in August 2021 his wife Mala Samtani decided to plan a family reunion and a holiday in the Hamptons with her entire family for a period of 14 days prior to Devu starting his new journey in New York at New York University.

"My son Devesh arrived in New York on the 4th of August and the very next day they went to the Hamptons on the 5th of August. They rented a home in the Hamptons. At 11:30 a.m, on the morning of 11th August 2021 in Hong Kong, I got a call from my wife. She was shouting, screaming, trembling and telling me that Devu had been hit by a car and was desperately trying to arrange an ambulance or a helicopter to take him to the hospital. We do not know anyone in the Hamptons so we had no idea who to call and we did not have any relatives or friends we could reach out to there."

Despite their desperate prayers for a positive outcome, their youngest son did not survive, Samtani said.

And the days since have been agony for his entire family, Samtani said. He is left with his memories, and with videos of his son, just 18, in his coffin.

He was declared officially dead 72 hours after reaching the hospital, he said.

"I am totally numb. Totally scared. Totally surprised. I have no emotions left in me. I spoke to him at the hospital to stay strong but he did not want to live with a broken body," Samtani said. "I spoke to him in the memorial hall to come back — but he is not coming back."

Samtani said he watches four videos every day: One of his son, lying in the grass on the side of the road "in a pool of blood." Another, with Campbell reportedly driving away; another of him, at the hospital, begging his son to stay strong; and the last talking with this boy at the memorial hall, his son in a coffin.

"I live with this," he said. "My life is not coming back." Campbell, Samtani said, "killed my whole family with one strong hit. My wife cries every day and every night. My kids are as numb and scared as I am. As for Devu, we all miss him a lot, a lot, a lot."

Samtani said losing his son "broke down my family. I am broken. But I am staying strong because I have to be the support for my family."

Since he lost Devesh, Samtani told Patch "life has totally changed." And while he and his family have worked to create scholarships and a foundation in memory to his son, educating 46 children in Hong Kong in the subject of math, because Devesh loved mathematics, the loss is a thick blanket over his life and those of his wife and two older sons.

"I am empty," he said.

Samtani told Patch that he is left with questions, asking how a car could have a struck his son so hard that "he flew high in the air" and dropped, his head hitting the ground, with no one stopping to help. Campbell, Samtani said, reportedly "swapped cars and was trying to run away" but due to bail reform in New York State, never spent any time in jail.

Campbell, he said, "is able to go home, to his parents, his family," he said. "I am shocked."

Samtani said he has spoken to young people who were at the crash and said the crash sounded "like dynamite, like a bullet," and that he was left bleeding on the ground. He also has questions about the reconstruction of the crash scene, he said.

And, Samtani said, what is most troublesome to him and his family remains: "There is no remorse. None of them have ever met with me. Not one letter. Nothing. Do they have a heart? Do they feel guilty? Or do they just not care? There is zero remorse."

At the ruling Friday, Samtani said he fears Campbell, after hitting his son, who died, could just "walk away scot free, with just community service."

Edward Burke Jr., Campbell's attorney, said he could not respond, but told Patch he will comment after the court conference on Friday.

His son, Samtani said, "was a wonderful boy. He was charitable, did a lot of events for his school." And, he said, his son was intelligent, enrolling himself in courses whenever he was visiting family in New York. "He would have had a very bright future." In fact, Samtani said, he often used to tutor his older brothers, despite being the youngest.

One year later, Samtani remains wracked with grief, the "what-ifs" tormenting his days. "I don't know why I let him go to New York," he said."He was very good with me for 18 years. He came to New York last year in August and just days later, our whole lives changed."

Samtani said he wants to stand before the judge and have him look into his eyes, when he gives his ruling. "I want to stare at him and I want to see him staring back at me," he said.

Asked, if he could speak to his beloved son one more time, what he would say, Samtani spoke quietly. "Be happy, where you are," he said.

Jeff Kurani, the brother of Devesh's mother Mala, said he had a message he wanted to convey. If Campbell receives a sentence of probation or community service, "this criminal act will continue to cause tragedy," he said. "More families will continue to lose loved ones. If no strong punishment is served here, this will continue in the future. You should never allow the driver in a hit-and-run to walk free — can you imagine what kind of example that's setting for others?" he said. "All the judge will be doing is encouraging others to do the same. There should be serious consequences. The judge has to make it right."

Mala Samtani also shared her unspeakable grief with Patch last year, just two months after her son's death.

"I feel so lost," she said. "The pain is stabbing in my heart, every second. I can't sleep, I can't eat ... People ask me, 'Are you feeling better?' How can I feel better? It's the same loss. My son is still not with me. . . I can't live without him."

In January, Campbell was arraigned in Riverhead on the charge one count of leaving the scene of an accident without reporting, a felony, before Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro, according to his attorney, Burke, Jr.

At the arraignment, Omar Almanzar Paramio, attorney for for Samtani-Kurani family, alleged that after the crash, Campbell went home, traded his car for his parents', and went to meet a friend. Paramio said that later, police found that Campbell had checked Long Island bus and train schedules on his phone and said that Campbell's family owned properties in Westchester County and Pennsylvania.

Burke said that Campbell works at his family's clothing store in Montauk and has no prior involvement with the criminal justice system.

"This was a horrible accident, a horrible tragedy," Burke said.

Ambro said he was not able to set bail due to New York's bail reform law; he released Campbell on his own recognizance but said he must appear at court dates or face a bench warrant. Due to the "gravity of the charges," Ambro said he would continue the conditions of a supervised release program that have been in place since the arrest.

Addressing reporters outside the courthouse, Burke said he didn't want to speak in "legalese. Simply, on behalf of my clients and his family, we offer our sincere condolences for the loss of Mr. Samtani. It was a horrible, horrible tragedy and we want to express our sorrow. This is something they have wanted to say for many, many months."

Burke added that the roadway where the crash occurred was "extremely narrow, and very dangerous."

Mala Samtani, speaking on the loss of her son, said he had written and designed a book, "Ash's Birthday Party," to help children navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Samtani's family — the entrepreneurs behind the Hong Kong-based "As Seen on TV" gadgets — worked with New York University to create a scholarship for students in financial need. A foundation has also been created to do good works in his name, his mother said, as her son was committed to helping others

But despite the plans to honor him, Samtani said was she struggling to survive without her son. "I feel so lost," she said.

At night, Samtani sleeps in her son's bed, his photo beside her, hugging his clothing tightly in her arms. "I wish I could say that this was just a bad dream but as time goes by you realize this was a nightmare," she said. "And it actually happened."

Devesh loved playing chess. He also loved basketball, soccer, tennis and cricket, as well as water sports and playing the piano, Samtani said.

But most of all, he loved his family, including his father Kishore and brothers Kunal and Viren, Samtani said.

She and her youngest son shared an irreplaceable bond.

"Every birthday, every anniversary, every Mother's Day, he'd bake me a cake with his own hands. He loved going into the kitchen and surprising me," she said. "I'm going to miss that so much. It's not going to be the same now."

Her son also used to bring her breakfast in bed on special occasions. He'd accompany her willingly to Hindu services —and to the store, never letting her carry a grocery bag. He greeted everyone with his big, easy smile and welcoming words, she said.

"He was the life of the house, the shining star of our home. That is Devesh," Samtani said.

Thinking about the crash, Samtani is wracked with anguish. "How could you hit somebody like that and not stop? Maybe if he had stopped, my child could have been saved. His error has cost my son his life. There is no way I can get my son back. He's shattered us."

And for her mother's heart, the loss is too great to fathom. "He was not only my son. He was my best friend. My baby. A boy any mother would want. And then he was snatched away, just like that ... In 45 minutes, I lost him."