Bride killed, groom seriously injured by suspected drunk driver hours after wedding

ByWill McDuffie ABCNews logo
Tuesday, May 2, 2023

A golf cart carrying four people was struck from behind by a suspected drunk driver Friday night near Charleston, South Carolina, killing a woman who had just celebrated her wedding earlier in the day.

Chief Andrew Gilreath of the Folly Beach Department of Public Safety identified the victim as 34-year-old Samantha Miller.

The three others in the golf cart, who were not named, were all injured, with two in serious condition and one in stable condition.

Jamie Komoroski, 25, was arrested and charged with three counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury/death and one count of reckless homicide. Gilreath said Komoroski was driving 65 miles per hour when the crash happened. Her blood draw results are pending, he added.

According to a GoFundMe account created by a woman identifying herself as the mother of the groom, Miller and Aric Hutchinson were being escorted from their wedding reception by two family members when Komoroski's car slammed into the golf cart, propelling the cart nearly a football field ahead as it "rolled several times."

Gilreath could not confirm that the golf cart rolled but said it was found on its side roughly 75 yards from the collision.

"Aric is in serious condition and has had one of two reconstruction surgeries, numerous broken bones, and a brain injury, he will have a long recovery," wrote Arnette Hutchinson.

"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," she added. "Aric has lost the love of his life."

Arnette Hutchinson said that the money raised -- more than $150,000 as of Monday afternoon -- will help pay for Miller's burial and the medical costs for the injured golf cart occupants. Hutchinson did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

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