Jamie Lee Komoroski, the South Carolina woman who admitted to drinking and driving more than twice the speed limit when she crashed into a golf cart and killed a bride last year, will now spend up to 25 years in prison.
Komoroski, 27, pleaded guilty at the Charleston County courthouse to reckless homicide, felony DUI causing death and two counts of felony DUI causing great bodily injury before her sentencing.
The 34-year-old bride, Samantha Miller, died in the April 2023 wreck while her groom, Aric Hutchinson, was seriously injured.
Hutchinson cried in court Monday as he recalled the last moments he spent with his new bride — some of their only moments as husband and wife.
“On the golf cart, she told me she didn’t want the night to end and I kissed her on the forehead and then the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital,” Hutchinson said.
Judge Deadra Jefferson handed Komoroski a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for felony DUI causing death. She also was sentenced to 15 years in prison for each count of felony DUI causing great bodily injury and 10 years for reckless homicide. The sentences will all run concurrently.
On the night of Miller and Hutchinson’s wedding reception on Folly Beach, an island near Charleston, S.C., the newlyweds had just left the party and were driving along a beach road, where the speed limit is 25 mph (40 km/h). At around 10 p.m., a rental car slammed into the golf cart from behind.
Komoroski was arrested and detained at the scene.
A subsequent investigation found that data on Komoroski’s rental car indicated she was driving 65 mph (105 km/h) and only briefly hit the brakes before she hit the golf cart, investigators said.
The groom’s mother, Annette Hutchinson, later revealed that the “golf cart was thrown over 100 yards and rolled several times.”
Komoroski was not injured in the crash and officers said in affidavit last year that they could smell alcohol on her breath.
“I asked Jamie if she had anything to drink and she stated that she had one beer and a drink with tequila about an hour ago,” the affidavit read. “I then ask on a scale from one being completely sober and 10 being the most impaired, she stated she was an eight.”
Komoroski allegedly refused to complete a field sobriety test when asked by officers and became uncooperative. At one point when she tried to stand up, she became unsteady on her feet and almost fell down, the affidavit said. An officer had to help her stand.
The 34-year-old bride died still wearing her wedding dress. The groom suffered a brain injury and numerous broken bones.
Komoroski, after pleading guilty on Monday, said she was addicted to alcohol and selfishly didn’t care how her actions affected others, adding that she’s “devastated, deeply ashamed and sorry” for the hurt she’s caused.
“I wish I could go back and undo this terrible tragedy. But I cannot. I will live the rest of my life with intense regret for what happened that night,” she said.
Komoroski’s supporters asked the judge to be lenient because she is young, remorseful and can still do good.
Miller’s family, on the other hand, asked for a harsh sentence, saying they can never get her back and that the decisions Komoroski made that night were selfish and permanently scarred many lives. Komoroski looked at most of Miller’s family, including Hutchinson, as they spoke, occasionally wiping away tears.
Hutchinson said he sees more doctors and therapists than he can count because of his physical injuries and the mental anguish of the crash, and that he thinks about it every single day.
“I wish I had died that night. I wish I had seen it coming. I’d have jumped off the golf cart so you would only have run me over,” Hutchinson said.
Before the sentencing, Miller’s father told Komoroski he was disgusted that she appeared to never take responsibility. He told her she could apologize, but he wouldn’t listen to a word.
“The rest of my life I’m going to hate you and when I arrive in hell and you come there, I will open the door for you,” Brad Warner said. “You have ruined so many people’s lives.”
— With files from Global News and The Associated Press