Latest news with #Burack
New York Post
27-06-2025
- New York Post
‘Homeless by choice': Tragic last days of Netflix reality show realtor killed in Hamptons hit-and-run
Sara Burack sold luxury homes to the Hamptons' wealthiest buyers — and even appeared on the Netflix reality show 'Million Dollar Beach House' — but at the time of death last week, the golden girl was 'homeless by choice' and suffering from mental health issues, despite an outpouring of family support, sources told The Post. 'She was a real businesswoman. Savvy, smart. She was a really hard worker and a good person,' her close friend and former boyfriend Mike White, a builder from Southampton, told The Post. But she was also, he added, a 'workaholic times 10.' And while that meant that 'she became one of the top agents here,' it also may have fueled a dangerous reliance on pills. 9 Sara Burack, who sold luxury homes to the Hamptons' wealthiest buyers, and appeared on the Netflix reality show 'Million Dollar Beach House,' died last week in a fatal hit-and-run. Sipa USA via AP 'She kept taking Adderall to stay awake and keep working,' White said, 'She was trying to work longer and longer staying up for all types of hours.' It's unknown why Burack was walking on Montauk Highway, near Villa Paul restaurant in Hampton Bays, in the middle of the night when she was struck in a hit-and-run last week. Police found her unconscious around 2:45 a.m. on June 19, and she was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she died. Amanda Kempton, 32, was later charged with leaving the fatal scene, a class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison, according to the Southampton Town Police Department. She pleaded not guilty and was released on $100,000 bail. 9 It's unknown why Burack was walking on Montauk Highway, near Villa Paul restaurant in Hampton Bays, in the middle of the night when she was struck by a car. @luxgrouppalmbeach/Instagram 9 'She was a real businesswoman. Savvy, smart. She was a really hard worker and a good person,' her close friend and former boyfriend Mike White told The Post of Burack. Brian Zak/NY Post White, who said he was by her side in the hospital, believes she was likely looking for a place to stay. 'She was staying in bank foyers,' he said, again stressing that it was by choice. Last year, Burack apparently sold her car and condo. 'She wasn't driving anymore. She didn't lose her apartment, she sold it. She didn't have financial problems at all,' White said. 'She just didn't want to deal with anything anymore.' Her family, he said, 'never gave up' and were distraught over Burack's state. 9 White, who said he was by his friend Burack's side in the hospital, believes she was likely looking for a place to stay on the night of her death. 'She was staying in bank foyers,' he said, stressing that it was by choice. Sipa USA via AP 'Her mom was going to get her an apartment— she didn't want it. She said it was bugged by the US government,' White said. 'Her poor mother did everything. Her mom and her dad are the nicest parents in the world.' A spokesperson for the Burack family told The Post in an emailed statement: 'People say all kinds of things when someone dies. However, the fact remains that our daughter, Sara, was run over and left for dead by a 32-year-old woman who claims she thought she hit a cone. Our family is in deep mourning and we will not comment further as we try to digest the loss of our beloved daughter who was a loving sister and friend to many.' White, 56, met Burack, who grew up in Westchester and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Penn., at Hampton Gym Corp in Southampton around 2019. The two briefly dated, and he called her an 'angel' who helped him rent out homes during the pandemic. 9 White told The Post Burack, who appeared on the reality real estate show 'Million Dollar Beach House' in August 2020, had a supportive family who 'never gave up' and were distraught over her state. Entertainment Tonight/YouTube In 2020, she was a cast member on the Netflix reality series 'Million Dollar Beach House,' which followed agents from the luxury brokerage Nest Seekers International as they sold mansions in the Hamptons. The show ended after one season. But White started to notice that Burack's behavior seemed off in early 2022, around the time that she was involved in a $200,000 commission dispute with her employer, Nest Seekers, and Douglas Elliman over the sale of a multi-million dollar property in Southampton. 'She was obsessed with losing her listing and not getting her commission,' said White, adding that he sold the home as the builder. 'We don't comment on pending litigation and given the tragic events over the last week it should not be the focus,' Nest Seekers Hamptons area regional manager Geoff Gifkins told The Post. 9 Driver Amanda Kempton was charged with leaving the fatal scene, a class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison, according to the Southampton Town Police Department. T E McMorrow for NY Post The Post has reached out to Douglas Elliman for comment. Burack, according to White, became suspicious of her colleagues and grew increasingly reclusive. 'She thought there were things going on … that people were trying to put anthrax in her food,' he said. 'She wasn't eating regularly.' Consumed by the court dispute, Burack 'began spending all her time at the library, constantly researching things for no clear reason,' White said. 9 White started to notice that Burack's behavior seemed off in early 2022, around the time that she was involved in a $200,000 commission dispute with her employer, Nest Seekers, and Douglas Elliman over the sale of a multi-million dollar property in Southampton. @luxgrouppalmbeach/Instagram Multiple sources also confirmed that Burack spent 'hours' in the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton. (The library did not return The Post's request for comment). 'She'd sit on a bench with me for an hour or so and show me all these papers and her business plan,' White said. 'She was needing mental health help for a very long time,' a Southampton source told The Post. 'The last year or two, she was homeless. I would see her walking around with her bag. She was always at the library which was a sad place to go.' White said that he and Burack's family 'tried to get her into rehab. We tried to help her. Her poor mother did everything to help her. Her mom tried everything … she got an interventionist.' 9 White said that he and Burack's family 'tried to get her into rehab. We tried to help her. Her poor mother did everything to help her. Her mom tried everything … she got an interventionist.' Brian Zak/NY Post The Sunday before the accident that took Burack's life, White said, she called him up and said she was in Hampton Bays and wanted to get food. 'I only gave her enough money for food and for the bus,' he said. 'She wasn't destitute. But she didn't carry any money with her. I still don't understand. Maybe she was just tired of it. Sometimes you become a slave to money and your career.' The Southampton source was surprised to hear that Burack had been in an accident out of town. 'When I saw that she got hit in Hampton Bays, the first thing that came to mind was 'what is she doing in Hamptons Bays?' I don't know how she got there. 9 'She had a million friends … She had everything,' White said of Burack. @luxgrouppalmbeach/Instagram 'This was a tragedy – everyone knew what was going on and no one did anything,' the Southampton source added. 'It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.' White believes the tragedy began when people turned away from Burack. 'She had a million friends. She had material things, immaterial things. She had everything,' he said. But once things started going wrong for her, 'They all scattered.'
USA Today
23-06-2025
- USA Today
Sara Burack death: Arrest made in fatal hit-and-run of 'Million Dollar Beach House' star
Police have arrested a suspect in a hit-and-run last week that resulted in the death of luxury real estate agent and former Netflix star Sara Burack. Authorities in Southampton, New York, arrested 32-year-old Amanda Kempton Friday, June 20, charging her with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which a fatality occurred, Burack's death, according to a release from the police department. In the state of New York, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, if the accident results in death, is a class D felony. Kempton could face up to seven years in prison. Kempton, originally from Virginia, was held overnight before pleading not guilty Saturday, June 21 and being released on bail, NBC reported. Her charges stem from a crash in the wee hours of June 19. At 2:45 a.m., near the Villa Paul restaurant in the Hamptons, Kempton is accused of hitting Burack with her vehicle. Burack subsequently succumbed to the injuries she sustained, according to Southampton police. She was 40. According to her LinkedIn profile, Burack worked for the luxury real estate firm Nest Seekers International. Burack also appeared on the first and only season of the Netflix reality show "Million Dollar Beach House" in 2020. The program followed a cadre of ambitious real estate agents as they attempted to hawk multi-million dollar estates in the Hamptons, a wealthy New York beach hamlet.
NBC News
21-06-2025
- NBC News
Virginia woman arrested in connection with Netflix star's fatal hit and run
A Virginia woman was arraigned in court Saturday in connection with a hit and run in the Hamptons that left New York City-based luxury real estate agent and former Netflix star Sara Burack dead. Southampton Town Police said in a statement Friday they arrested Amanda Kempton, 32, of Virginia, and that she was charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which a fatality occurred. Burack, who starred in the Netflix series 'Million Dollar Beach House,' was killed in the apparent hit and run on Thursday, police said. She was 40. Police confirmed in a phone call that Kempton pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. Her attorney could not immediately be reached for comment. Burack worked for the luxury real estate firm Nest Seekers International for more than a decade, according to her LinkedIn profile. The company has not responded to a request for comment. The 40-year-old agent was best known for starring in the reality television series, which ran for a single season in 2020. 'Million Dollar Beach House' centered on the lives of several real estate agents, including Burack, who competed for listings of opulent homes in the Hamptons. Netflix did not return a request for comment on Burack's death. Police found Burack unresponsive on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays early Thursday morning after receiving a 911 call about a woman lying unconscious on the busy road. She was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
UPI
21-06-2025
- UPI
Arrest made in hit-and-run death of Realtor in Netflix reality series
Sara Burack, a luxury real estate agent who appeared on Netflix's Million Dollar Beach House, was killed Thursday when she was mowed down in a hit-and-run while walking. Photo from luxgrouppalmbeach/Instagram June 21 (UPI) -- Police on Long Island have arrested a suspect in the fatal hit-and-run crash of Sara Burack, a luxury real estate agent featured on Netflix's Million Dollar Beach House. She was 40. Friday, one day after the crash, Amanda Kempton, 32, of Virginia, was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which a fatality occurred in Hampton Bays. On Saturday, the marine biologist's family in Manorville put up collateral in lieu of $100,000 bail during a first appearance in Southampton Town Justice Court. Kempton, who had planned to return to Virginia for a wedding Saturday, faces up to seven years in prison in the felony case. Burack was discovered lying unconscious on the side of Montauk Highway, near Villa Paul Restaurant, at around 2:45 a.m. Thursday, Southampton Town police told the New York Daily News. Burack was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she died that afternoon, her friend and fellow realtor Paulette Corsair said. Corsair said Burack endured severe injuries to her head, brain and liver, as well as a broken leg. "This animal of a being, left her in the gutter to die," Corsair posted on Facebook. "She was not identified for hours. Her beloved family was called & I was next. We were all bedside w sara til the end." Although Kempton was at a tavern before the incident, her lawyer told the court that alcohol is not a factor in the case. Kempton did not see the victim in the fog, Keahon said, and thought she had hit a traffic cone. She left the scene and went to a friend's home, and found Burack's large, pink, wheeled suitcase underneath her vehicle, Keahon said. Authorities, using a license plate reader, tracked Kempton's movements and found her vehicle with a damaged front end at her family's home, prosecutors said. Burack, who lived in Southampton, was a renowned broker and former agent with Nest Seekers International, a luxury firm known for handling properties in Manhattan and the Hamptons. She listed property through Palm Beach Lux Group in Florida. Burack appeared on Million Dollar Beach House in 2020 with Peggy Zabakolas and J.B. Andreassi.
New York Post
21-06-2025
- New York Post
Virginia woman nabbed in fatal hit-and-run death of hot shot Hamptons real estate agent Sara Burack appears in court
A Virginia woman arrested in the fatal hit-and-run death of hot shot Hamptons real estate agent Sara Burack thought she'd hit a traffic cone, her lawyer claimed during a Saturday morning court appearance. Marine biologist Amanda Kempton pleaded not guilty and was released from police custody after her family, who live in Manorville, put up collateral in lieu of $100,000 bail, officials said during the proceeding in Southampton Town Justice Court. Kempton, 32, choked back tears as prosecutor MacDonald Drane requested the high bail, describing her as a flight risk who fled the scene and who had been set to return to Virginia Saturday for a wedding. Advertisement 3 Kempton, 32, didn't see the victim and thought she had hit a traffic cone, her lawyer said. T E McMorrow for NY Post She faces four years in prison on a felony charge of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which there is a fatality. 3 Hamptons real estate agent Sara Burack was walking on the side of the road and pulling a large pink suitcase behind her when she was struck. @luxgrouppalmbeach/Instagram The scientist allegedly spent time at a tavern before the Thursday afternoon incident in which she allegedly mowed down Burack in Hampton Bays, but alcohol is not considered a factor in the case, Drane said. Advertisement Burack, 40, who specialized in high end properties and starred in the hit 'Million Dollar Beach House,' was walking down the side of the road carrying a pink suitcase when she was struck on Montauk Highway. Kempton, who previously worked for the Children's Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton, wore an orange sweatshirt and black slacks as her family sat silently in the courtroom. 3 A marine biologist, Kempton once worked at the Children's Museum of the East End. Amanda Kempton/Facebook The afternoon was foggy and Kempton did not see the victim — believing instead that she had hit a traffic cone, her attorney, William Kehoe, told the court. Advertisement She left the scene and went to a friend's home, where she found Burack's large, pink, wheeled suitcase lodged underneath her vehicle, Kehoe added. Authorities used a license plate reader to track Kempton's movements and found her vehicle, with a damaged front end, at her family's home, prosecutors said. Kempton and her family declined comment after the proceeding.
