Driver gets maximum sentence in SC accident that killed newlywed

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – A judge has sentenced a woman who pleaded guilty to multiple charges stemming from a 2023 DUI crash on Folly Beach that killed a bride hours after her wedding and two others. people were injured.

Jamie Lee Komoroski was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of DUI, two counts of causing serious bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide.

Judge Deadra Jefferson sentenced her to 10 years for reckless homicide, 15 years for two counts of causing an accident under the influence resulting in serious bodily injury, and 25 years for the crime of causing an accident under the influence resulting in death.

Jefferson said that because the sentences are concurrent, she faces a total of 25 years in prison.

The judge questioned Komoroski about his decision to plead guilty to the charges. Komoroski told the court that she was guilty, was not forced to plead guilty and was waiving the jury trial to which she would be entitled.

Komoroski’s charges resulted from an accident that occurred on April 28, 2023 at Folly Beach. Folly Beach Police Chief Andrew Gilreath said the crash occurred around 10 p.m. that evening in the 1200 block of East Ashley Avenue.

Investigators said the vehicle Komoroski was driving was traveling at 65 miles per hour when it struck a golf cart occupied by newlyweds Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson and two members of Hutchinson’s family.

“I feel like the punishment fits the crime,” Aric Hutchinson said after the verdict was announced. “I think she’s sorry. But it doesn’t change the fact that Sam is gone, my wife is gone, the family we planned is gone, all our injuries are gone. So this will definitely take some time.

According to... 34-year-old Samantha Miller died at the scene as a result of injuries suffered in the accident. — Samantha Miller, 34, died at the scene from injuries suffered in the crash, according to Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal.(Annette Hutchinson via GoFundMe)

Investigators said the vehicle Komoroski was driving was traveling at 65 miles per hour when it struck the golf cart. It was home to newlyweds Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson, as well as two members of Hutchinson’s family, his brother-in-law Benjamin Garrett and his son Brogan.

Miller was killed and the other three were injured in this crash.

Hutchinson’s family members were taking the newlyweds back to their rental home in a golf cart when the accident occurred.

Late Sunday evening in Graniteville, we went to the scene of a house fire in which two people died.

Before the judge handed down the sentence, relatives of Miller and Hutchinson approached the court. Members of Komoroska’s family and her supporters also talked to the judge.

Benjamin Garrett testified in court that he was driving a golf cart the night of the accident. Garrett said his only job at the wedding was to get the newlyweds back to their venue, a fact that haunts him to this day.

He said his only job at the wedding was to get the newlyweds back to their location, and the fact that he didn’t do that haunts him to this day.

“It was my only job and I couldn’t finish it,” he said.

Garrett was also seriously injured in the accident. He said he still thinks to this day if he could have done something differently while driving that could have spared Miller’s life.

“We didn’t get hit, we just got run over,” Hutchinson said. “All four of us should have died that night. I believe Sam saved us. That’s who she is, she’d take one for all of us.”

Komoroski was the last to speak before the verdict was announced.

“I will carry this guilt for the rest of my life and take full responsibility,” she said.