Drunk driver accused of killing bride on her wedding day ‘doesn’t know why this had to happen’ to her
The woman accused of killing a bride on her wedding day after drink driving broke down in tears during prison video calls with her family.
Aric Hutchinson and Samantha Miller had been married just hours when tragedy struck.
The newlyweds were leaving their wedding reception at Folly Beach in South Carolina when the golf cart they were travelling in was hit by a car driven by Jamie Lee Komoroski.
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Mrs Hutchinson, who was still wearing her wedding dress at the time, suffered blunt force trauma as a result of the collision and died at the scene.
While he survived, herr husband was very badly injured, with several broken bones and a bleed on the brain.
Komoroski, 25, was arrested and charged with three felony DUIs resulting in great bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide.
According to a police report, her blood alcohol content was found to be .261 - meaning she was three times over the limit.
She is also alleged to have been travelling at speeds of up to 65mph in a 25mph zone.
The report says that following the smash, Komoroski told officers: “All of a sudden something hit me. I did nothing wrong.”
Following her arrest, Komoroski has been held at Charleston County jail and recently had her request for bail rejected.
Earlier this week, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office released a series of video and audio calls between Komoroski and her family and friends.
In one call with her dad, Charles Komoroski, she tearfully said: “I don’t think I’m a threat to society at all and I’m not.”
After her dad warns that she needs to be ‘tough’, Komoroski replies: “I’m just scared, dad. I don’t want to go away for so long.”
She then breaks down and lets out a muffled scream, before adding: “I don’t want to go to prison for 15 years.”
During another conversation, Komoroski appears to question how she ended up in the situation she is in.
“I still just don’t know why this had to happen to me,” she tells her dad.
He responds: “Because bad things happen to good people, honey.”
Following her arrest, Komoroski hired a legal team from Nathan S. Williams and Christopher S. Gramiccioni to defend her.
Back in May, the lawyer put out a statement on behalf of their client, saying: “We cannot fathom what the families are going through and offer our deepest sympathies.
“We simply ask that there not be a rush to judgement. Our court system is founded upon principles of justice and mercy and that is where all facts will come to light.”
Claire Reid