Left: Jamie Lee Komoroski (via Charleston County (S.C.) Sheriff's Office. Right: Aric Hutchinson and Samantha Miller, moments after getting married on April 28, 2023 (via GoFundMe).
A bride was killed moments after her wedding reception when the golf cart carrying her and her husband away from their reception was struck by an alleged drunk driver going more than twice the speed limit.
Samantha Miller, 34, died after Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, allegedly slammed her rental car into the back of the golf cart on a road on Folly Beach, South Carolina, at around 10:00 p.m. on Friday. Miller's new husband, Aric Hutchinson, reportedly suffered a brain injury and is in critical condition, and two other people in the golf cart were also hurt.
The golf cart was reportedly thrown 100 yards and rolled over several times after impact.
"All occupants of the LSV/golf cart were injured to different extents, to include one fatality," Folly Beach Public Safety Director Andrew Gilreath said in a statement. Three other people in the golf cart were injured, with two in "very serious condition" and one, a minor, in stable condition.
"The person killed in the crash was Samantha Miller, who just earlier in the evening celebrated her wedding," the statement says. "The occupants were transporting the new bride and groom back to their rental house when they were struck."
Komoroski was not injured in the crash.
Gilreath says Komoroski was going 65 mph at the time she struck the golf cart from behind. The speed limit on Folly Island, located some 10 miles south of Charleston, is 25 mph, according to the Associated Press.
"She is being charged with three (3) counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury/death, and one (1) count of reckless homicide," Gilreath's statement says.
First responders said Komoroski smelled of alcohol, according to a probable cause affidavit for her arrest.
"As I made contact with Jamie, I smelled an odor of alcohol coming from her breath and person," the responding sergeant said in the affidavit. The sergeant asked Komoroski if she had had anything to drink, and she replied that she had "one beer and a drink with tequila about an hour ago."
When asked to rank herself on a sobriety scale from one to 10, with "1 being completely sober and 10 being the most impaired," Komoroski said that she was at an eight, according to the affidavit.
Komoroski "strongly refused" to submit to a sobriety test and "became uncooperative on the scene," according to the affidavit.
"Also, when Jamie stood up, she was very unsteady on her [feet] and almost fell down and I had to help her stand," the affidavit says. Komoroski was then handcuffed and taken into custody, where she refused to provide a breath sample. Police obtained a warrant to draw Komoroski's blood, which was sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) for analysis.
Gilreath's office did not confirm whether Komoroski was driving under the influence.
"Her blood draw results are pending," his statement says.
The Associated Press reported that Gilreath said the golf cart had lights and was legal to drive at night.
Aric Hutchinson's mother has launched a GoFundMe effort in the wake of Miller's death and her son's serious injuries.
"I was handed Aric's wedding ring in a plastic bag at the hospital, five hours after Sam placed it on his finger and they read each other their vows," Annette Hutchinson's fundraising page says. "Aric has lost the love of his life."
Annette Hutchinson said that her son is in critical condition and "has had one of two reconstruction surgeries, numerous broken bones, and a brain injury."
"He will have a long recovery," she added.
The two other people in the golf cart were Annette Hutchinson's son-in-law, Benjamin Garrett, and grandson, Brogan Garrett, who were escorting the couple from the reception at the time, the website says.
The couple had apparently "made their home in both the groom's home state of Utah and the state of South Carolina," the website said. Miller was from North Carolina.
As of Tuesday, the GoFundMe has more than quadrupled its stated goal of $100,000 to help pay for Miller's burial and medical costs for Aric Hutchinson and his family.
WCBD reported that Komoroski has a history of speeding-related charges.
Read the probable cause affidavit for Komoroski's arrest, below.
