US bride dies at own wedding, groom fights for life after drunk driver crashes into golf cart
- Joy turns into tragedy for families of Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson after woman driving under the influence slams into back of a golf cart
- The groom remains hospitalised and in critical condition, with a brain injury and broken bones
A US bride leaving her wedding reception was killed when a woman driving under the influence and well over twice the speed limit slammed into the back of a golf cart on a South Carolina beach road, authorities said.
Data retrieved from Jamie Lee Komoroski’s rental car indicated she was driving 105kph (65mph) and only briefly hit the brakes before she hit the golf cart around 10pm on Friday on Folly Beach, investigators said.
The speed limit on the island near Charleston is 40kph (25mph).
Samantha Miller, 34, of Charlotte, North Carolina, died in the wreck, according to the Charleston County Coroner’s Office.
Miller was leaving the wedding reception having just gotten married hours earlier, Folly Beach Public Safety Department Director Andrew Gilreath said.
Three others in the golf cart including the groom, Aric Hutchinson, were injured. Gilreath said the golf cart had lights and was legal to drive at night.
The groom’s mother created an online fund to pay for her daughter-in-law’s funeral and her son’s medical bills. It included a photo of the newlyweds running under sparklers just before the crash.
It also had a photo of groom Aric Hutchinson in hospital, where he remains in criticial condition with a brain injury and numerous broken bones, after the golf cart rolled over several times and was thrown about 90 metres (100 yards).
At the hospital, Annette Hutchinson wrote that she was handed a bag with her son’s wedding band five hours after his now-dead wife put it on his finger.
Komoroski, 25, is charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence causing death. She faces one to 25 years in prison on each DUI count.
Komoroski remained in the Charleston County jail Monday afternoon and records did not indicate if she had a lawyer.
