Bride Killed, Groom Critically Injured Leaving Reception When Car Slams Into Golf Cart

FOLLY BEACH, SC — A bride leaving her wedding reception was killed and the groom seriously injured Friday when a woman driving under the influence slammed her speeding rental car into the back of a golf cart on a South Carolina road, according to authorities.

The bride, Samantha Miller, 34, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was killed when the woman, Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, briefly hit the breaks on her rental car, which was going more than double the speed limit before it hit the golf cart, officials said. Three others in the golf cart, including the groom, were injured, according to officials.

The groom, Aric Hutchinson, is in critical condition, his mother Annette Hutchinson wrote in the description of a GoFundMe campaign which was set up to help pay for Miller's burial and medical costs for Aric Hutchinson and his family.

Hutchinson added that her son-in-law and grandson were escorting the couple from the reception in a golf cart when they were struck from behind, throwing the golf cart 100 yards and causing it to roll over several times.

"Sam died from her injuries. 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. Ben and Brogan were also injured, Ben seriously," Hutchinson wrote.

Komoroski was charged with one count of reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm, online court records show.

Data from Komoroski's vehicle indicated she was traveling around 65 miles per hour, officials said. The speed limit on the island near Charleston is 25 miles per hour.

After the crash, the golf cart, which was adorned with cans and a “just married” sign, “was quite mangled, and it was on its side,” Chief Andrew Gilreath, the public safety director for Folly Beach, told CNN.

Miller had just got married hours earlier, Gilreath said.

"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," Hutchinson wrote in the GoFundMe. "Aric has lost the love of his life."

Patch reached out to the Folly Beach Public Safety Department for more information.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.