Left: Jamie Lee Komoroski (via Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (SC). Right: Aric Hutchinson and Samantha Miller, moments after their wedding on April 28, 2023 (via GoFundMe).
Lawyers for alleged drunk driver accused of killing a bride and seriously injuring her husband as they left their reception in a golf cart say there should be no ‘rush to judgement’ from their customer.
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, is charged with the death of Samantha Miller, 34, who died April 28 after being hit by a car Komoroski was driving on a road in Folly Beach, South Carolina. Miller and her husband, Aric Hutchinson – who had married hours earlier – were leaving their wedding reception in a golf cart.
First responders said Komoroski’s breath smelled of alcohol. She said she had had a beer and a shot of tequila about an hour earlier and “firmly refused” to take a sobriety test.
Komoroski’s attorneys, Nathan S. Williams and Christopher S. Gramiccioni, released a statement to the Post & Courier, according to the New York Post.
‘We cannot understand what the families are going through and offer them our deepest condolences,’ the attorneys reportedly said in the written statement. “We just ask that there is no rush to judgement. Our judicial system is founded on the principles of justice and mercy, and that is where all the facts will come to light.
According to the New York Post, Williams is a former federal prosecutor known for trying racist mass shooter Dylann Roof. At the same time, Gramiccioni was a prosecutor in Monmouth County, New Jersey, before entering private practice in 2021.
Investigators say Komoroski’s car was traveling 65 mph when it hit the golf cart from behind, causing it to fly 100 yards and roll several times after impact.
Miller died at the scene, while Hutchinson suffered serious injuries, including brain damage. The other two passengers in the car – Hutchinson’s brother-in-law Benjamin Garrett and Garrett’s son Brogan, 17 – were also injured, Benjamin Garrett seriously.
Komoroski was charged with three counts of impaired driving causing grievous bodily harm/death and one count of reckless homicide.
In an update to a GoFundMe page, Aric Hutchinson’s mother, Annette Hutchinson, provided details about the extent of her family’s injuries.
Following the accident, Aric received multiple injuries, including two broken legs, one of which had to be surgically repaired. Broken facial bones that also had to be surgically repaired. Broken vertebrae in the back, bleeding in the brain and numerous cuts with stitches. He is physically recovering at home while trying to come to terms with the loss of his beautiful wife. Now he’s doing the unimaginable to plan Sam’s funeral with his family.
Ben is recovering in the burn unit where he underwent surgery to clean and treat his severe rashes and open wounds. The plastic surgeon also addressed his stitches in his face and some on his hands. He will need another skin graft at his home in Utah at some point. He needs to be able to put weight on his legs and his wounds start to heal before he can go home.
Brogan Garrett suffered minor injuries, wrote Annette Hutchinson.
“Our hope is that with love and support, he can overcome the trauma of being involved in this horrific accident at age 17,” the fundraising page reads.
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