Aric Hutchinson’s wife, Samantha Miller, was killed on their wedding night on April 28, 2023, in a crash when Jamie Komoroski, inset, allegedly speeding and driving drunk, hit their golf cart. (Komoroski’s mugshot from Charleston County Sheriff’s Office; Hutchinson photo from ABC’s “Good Morning America”; the couple’s wedding photo from court documents)
“She wanted the night to never end.”
That’s what a grieving groom seriously injured in a crash recalled his bride saying moments after the newlyweds left their wedding reception in a golf cart.
In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Aric Hutchinson spoke out for the first time since an alleged drunk driver hit them, killing his bride, Samantha Miller, on their wedding night last month.
“I do remember the last thing I remember her saying was she wanted the night to never end,” said Hutchinson, who said the next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital room, asking, “Where’s Sam?”
“That’s when [my mother] told me there’s an incident and that Sam didn’t make it,” he told the network.
While speaking of being back in the home the couple shared, he told the network, “It’s hard, but it’s also nice. It’s got Sam written all over the house. It’s nice to be here and have good memories.”
Hutchinson, 36, spoke after he filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the alleged drunk driver accused of crashing into them and the local bars accused of serving her “excessive” alcohol.
It alleges Jamie Komoroski, 25, was grossly negligent and reckless on April 28 when authorities say she got behind the wheel with a .261 BAC, more than triple the legal limit, and sped up before hitting the golf cart in a “drunken haze” in Folly Beach, near Charleston, South Carolina.
She faces charges of reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence, causing death or great bodily injury, according to Charleston County Sheriff’s Office online records.
Komoroski’s defense attorneys, Chris Gramiccioni, Deb Gramiccioni and Nathan Williams, asked the public not to rush to judgment, the Associated Press Reported.
“Our court system is founded upon principles of justice and mercy, and that is where all facts will come to light,” they said, the AP reported.
Taco Boy, one of the restaurants named in the lawsuit where Komoroski worked, released a statement saying she had been recently hired and was fired. She had trained for two days before the incident and had passed her background check, the statement said.
“There were no red flags that would indicate ineligibility for employment,” the statement said.
The suit accused Komoroski’s supervisor of “organizing, arranging, and supervising an employee function knowing that excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages would be purchased for, served to, and consumed by the employees attending the function.”
The restaurant denied Komoroski entered the restaurant on the day of the crash. The restaurant also denied claims of an “officially organized” restaurant employee drinking “function.”
“On the day of the accident, Friday, April 28, 2023, we can confirm with absolute certainty that Jamie Komoroski did not set foot in Taco Boy, nor did anyone on our team serve her alcohol at the restaurant,” the statement said. “We have confirmed this by watching 16 hours of video footage from multiple cameras, staff interviews with everyone working that day, and by reviewing all sales receipts.
“We are committed to serving alcohol responsibly and take it very seriously for the safety of our staff and guests.”
Law&Crime’s Matt Naham contributed to this report.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Aric Hutchinson’s bride Samantha Miller killed in DUI crash