Bride killed, groom injured hours after wedding when suspected drunk driver hits their golf cart
05/02/2023 12:01 pm PDT
FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (TCD) -- A 25-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after she allegedly crashed her rental car into a golf cart carrying a couple who wed only hours earlier.
According to an affidavit shared by WYFF-TV, on Friday, April 28, at 10:16 p.m., a Folly Beach Police officer responded to the 1200 block of East Ashley Avenue for a car accident involving injuries and found a "large crash scene with a golf cart on its side" against a Toyota Camry. The officer found Samantha Hutchinson and noted she had no pulse and was not breathing. He attempted lifesaving measures on her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Aric Hutchinson and Garrett Hutchinson were also injured at the scene and were "in and out" of consciousness.
The Folly Beach police officer spoke with the driver of the Camry, Jamie Komoroski, and noted she had "an odor of alcohol coming from her breath and person." She was reportedly not injured in the accident.
The affidavit says Komoroski told the officer she consumed a beer and tequila shot about an hour before the crash, though she admitted to being an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being completely sober and 10 "the most impaired."
Komoroski allegedly "strongly refused" to take a field sobriety test. Police took her into custody and then transported her to a hospital for a blood test. She was later booked into the Charleston County Jail on three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury and/or death. She was also placed under suicide watch because she allegedly told the officer that she wanted to die.
Charleston County Jail records show she is also being charged with reckless homicide.
According to WCBD-TV, Komoroski was allegedly driving 65 mph in a 25 mph zone when she crashed into the golf cart. Samantha Hutchinson, the bride, was reportedly still wearing her wedding dress.
A GoFundMe created by the groom Aric Hutchinson’s mother said Aric is in serious condition. He had one reconstruction surgery and suffered broken bones and a brain injury. Two other relatives in the golf cart also suffered injuries.
Aric’s mother wrote in the GoFundMe description, "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. Aric has lost the love of his life."
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