Daniel Campbell: 20-yr-old driving 'MENACE' had mutiple traffic violations before he killed Devesh Samtani
THE HAMPTONS, NEW YORK: Daniel Campbell, the 20-year-old who mowed down Devesh 'Devu' Samtani, 18, in Amagansett on August 10, 2021, was a known offender and a 'menace' on the road.
According to a recent report by Daily Mail, Campell had an array of previous traffic offenses including speeding tickets, a suspended license, and causing a head-on collision. Though he had a history of traffic offenses, he was spared jail time in the Samtani case and was instead given community service.
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According to the report, Campbell was involved in at least two horrible crashes before the incident that killed Samatani. This includes a February 2021 crash when he drove down a one-way street in White Plains, New York, in the wrong direction. In another accident, Campbell was slapped with six points over a June 2021 speeding offense in the Bronx. His driving history entails multiple violations, including eight points off of his license in less than a year's time.
Benjamin Brafman, a famous celebrity lawyer who is currently representing Samatini's family, told Daily Mail, "One of the accidents he was involved in was a head-on collision with another vehicle on a road that was clearly marked one-way. He was headed in the wrong direction. It was a miracle that no one was killed or hurt." Speaking about Campbell, he added, "We describe him as a driving menace."
Samtani's family believes justice was not served through the judgment. The teen's mother, Mala, said, "He killed a human. He has to understand that he has taken a human life. At least a minimum, he should get six months. If he is scot-free what are we teaching our kids? It's like we are saying you can hit, run, kill and get off." Furthermore, apart from the previous issues and tickets. Campbell was handed two points on his license in May 2021 for disobeying traffic devices in the town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County. In total, he was fined a total of $184 for driving in an uninspected and unregistered vehicle in November 2020 in Westchester County.
Brafman hopes the judgement will be revised with this new evidence in place. He hopes the findings will persuade Suffolk County Judge Richard Ambro to change his mind and sentence Campbell to prison. The court will further hear the case on September 22.