Long Island Hit-and Run: Mom of Teen Killed

Each day Mala Samtani writes a letter to her 18-year-old son, Devesh, and sends him a text message. “Devu, when are you coming back?”She asks. “We are waiting for you?”

There is no response.

The heartbroken mother lost her youngest son, Devesh Samtani after he sustained grave injuries from being hit by a car in the Hamptons, on eastern Long Island’s South Fork on Aug. 10. The driver behind the wheel of the car that hit Devesh, who police identified as then-19-year-old Daniel Campbell, allegedly fled the scene. Devesh died on Aug. 13.

“There is not a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t message him,” Mala told Inside Edition Digital. “The only difference, I don’t get a reply anymore.”

Hours after the crash, East Hampton police found Campbell, and he was arrested. Campbell’s sister was allegedly in the vehicle, along with eight other teen girls between the ages of 15 and 18 when Devesh was hit, according to the East Hampton Star.

Police said that when questioned, Campbell admitted to his role in the incident, according to the police accident report obtained by Inside Edition Digital.

Campbell was charged on Wednesday at Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead with leaving the scene of an accident with a fatality in an indictment unsealed, Newsday reported. Campbell did not speak with reporters as he walked out of the courtroom with his attorney and other family members after the arraignment, the news outlet reported.

Edward Burke, Jr., Campbell’s attorney, would not discuss specifics of the case when reached by Inside Edition Digital, but said that his client’s plea is not guilty. He said his client’s next conference is scheduled for Feb. 15 at 9:30 a.m.

Campbells charges were upgraded from an E-felony to a D-felony at the arraignment, Omar Almanzar Paramio, an attorney representing Devesh’s family, told Inside Edition Digital.

“Upper limit for the potential sentence is up from four to seven years,” Paramio said.

Paramio said he has learned that after the crash, Campbell went home and took a different car to meet a friend at a dock.

“The crime was not the accident or the collision, that was not the crime,” Paramio said. “The crime was leaving the scene. He was supposed to stick around through the accident to either call the police, give the police his insurance information, but he didn’t. He took off.”

Paramio said there were multiple eyewitnesses to the collision, including another person who was allegedly grazed by the vehicle.

“They said Campbell was driving fast. Some saw Devesh’s body fly into the air. Devesh’s cousin was right there when this happened,” Paramio said.

Police said that Campbell later told said in a written statement that “when I looked at the damage, I thought I killed him,” the East Hampton Star reported. Campbell also allegedly said, “If I could do it all over again, I would have stayed on the side of the road and called the police,” according to the news outlet.

Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Raymond Varuolo, who is prosecuting the case, said that “Mr. Campbell had reason to know,” that Devesh’s injuries were serious.

The prosecutor said Campbell’s statement, a videotaped admission, and evidence, including the search of his cell phone, showed that Campbell was searching for bus and train schedules off Long Island after the crash occurred, the East Hampton Star reported.

Campbell, whose license and passport was taken away after his arrest, has been on supervised release with GPS monitoring since his first hearing on Aug. 17. “Whether he goes to jail is questionable,” Paramio said.

As court proceedings move along, Devesh’s family hopes to see his alleged killer held accountable for his actions. Harder still for them is coming to terms with all they have lost. The wheels of justice may turn slow, but a mother’s mourning of her agonizing loss continues forever.

“Why? Why did this person take my son’s life?”Mala said the following in between sobs. “Why would someone drive and hit somebody and just leave them at the scene? He was a teenage boy who drove with all these people. With every breath, I must live with the loss of my child.”

She paused to compose herself before saying: “I have stopped being alive. All of us have stopped living. [Campbell’s] negligence took my son’s life. My son was able to live a normal life. My son had a future.”

Devesh, his cousin and some other friends were walking along Old Stone Highway in Amagansett with their friend after they had left a Timber Trail Road party that was broken up by police.

Devesh, a Hong Kong native, was visiting New York to visit his relatives. According to his mother, New York was like a second home and special place for Devesh, who spent summers there with his mother. He enjoyed attending Broadway shows, visiting museums, dining out at restaurants, and spending time with family.

New York was to become his permanent residence, since he was scheduled to begin school at NYU in September. His mother confirmed that he was going to study economics and math. “He loved math. It came easy to him. He always got top scores,” Mala said. “In school in Hong Kong, they used to call him the human calculator.”

“Devesh always dreamed of going to NYU,” she continued. “They had the courses he wanted. He wanted to open up his own hedge fund company one day. I used to call him ‘my hedge fund boy.’”

Devesh was also a published author. He had written and published the children’s book “Ash’s Birthday Party,”This book was created to help children cope with COVID-19. It allows them to share their feelings. Both English and Mandarin were used to write the book. Mala stated that the proceeds of the book went to charity.

Devesh, whom his mother described as a “saint,” was also known as “Devesh”. “giver,”He loved giving back. She said he was devoted to charity work, including at the Hong Kong non-profit Mother’s Choice, which served children without families and pregnant teenagers of limited means. She said he frequently fundraised for the agency.

Devesh has left behind two brothers aged 22 and 30, respectively.

“He was the most loving kid. He used to keep everyone together. He was very kind-hearted, that was his nature,” Mala said, noting that he used to always give the “tightest hugs.”

He was her “twin soul,” she said. Theirs was a life filled with fun selfies, instant noodles, baking, chess, and the piano.

“Every Sunday, after family lunch and tea was my Sunday date with Devesh. We would go to the supermarket, walk the dog, spend time together,” she said. “Usually boys don’t like to go shopping with their mother’s but Devesh always did.

“Devesh was God’s gift to me. A perfect child,” she said.

The night he was injured, Devesh had dinner with his family, including his mother, aunt, uncle, and cousin. He left for the party around 10:30 p.m. “‘Where’s my smile?’ I asked him,” Mala recalled. “He gave me the biggest smile that I will always remember.”

Mala’s brother-in-law dropped Devesh off at the party. It wasn’t long before she received devastating news.

“I saw him and one hour later he is not there. How is that possible?”She cried. “The pain is something I have to live with. How am I going to cope?”

She continued: “[Campbell] never apologized. Never checked on him. Never [went] to see him in the hospital. Nothing.”

Devesh’s mom says Campbell never apologised, but Burke said in a statement that Burke made to reporters after Wednesday’s hearing: “There will be no legalese today, no legal arguments. We are here simply on behalf of my client and his family to offer our condolences to the Samtani family. A horrible, horrible, tragic incident.”

Mala, who said she tries not to cry in front of her other children, as not to upset them, said that everything she does going forward is for her son. But living without him is difficult.

“I can’t sleep. I want to know where my son is. Will he come back? I visualize him with me,”She spoke. “Being awake is too painful.”

Since his death, Devesh’s family spends two days a month doing something charitable in his memory. They have also set up a memorial scholarship at NYU in their son’s name for a student who is studying math and economics. Moving forward, they hope to create a foundation and a school to serve underprivileged children, asylum seekers, and refugees. It’s what Devesh would have wanted. And all the while, they wait to see what the future has in store for Campbell, Mala said.

“I believe in God,”She said. “There will be justice done.”

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