Woman Accused Of Killing New Bride In Golf Cart Will Stay Behind Bars

FOLLY BEACH, SC — A judge has denied bond for a woman accused of killing a newlywed bride when she drunkenly slammed her Toyota Camry into a golf cart along a Folly Beach road in late April, The Associated Press reported.

Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, will remain behind bars after officials say she drove her rental car over twice the speed limit into a low-speed gold cart escorting a couple on their wedding day. The crash killed the bride, 34-year-old Samatha Miller from Charlotte, NC, and injured three others in the golf cart—including the groom, Aric Hutchinson, who was hospitalized in critical condition.

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. Her blood alcohol content exceeded three times the legal level, according to a toxicology report.

Circuit Judge Michael Nettles asked that the trial, currently set for March 2024, be expedited, according to The Associated Press. If the case is not heard by then, Komoroski can be released on a $150,000 surety bond. She would be subject to electronic monitoring and placed on house arrest.

Attorneys for Komoroski had sought a $100,000 bond under the conditions that she attend a rehabilitation program, remain under her mother’s supervision and forgo access to a vehicle or alcohol. They argued that she did not pose a community danger or flight risk and noted her lack of prior criminal history and strong family support.

Hutchinson filed a wrongful death lawsuit in May against Komoroski and several local bars and restaurants, according to a Good Morning America report.

The lawsuit states that on the night of the crash, "Despite being noticeably and visibly intoxicated at each of these establishments, Jaime Komoroski continued to be served, provided, and/or allowed to consume additional alcohol" at multiple bars and restaurants, ABC News reported.

Komoroski's employer and supervisor were also named in the lawsuit, according to ABC News, where they are accused of "pressuring" her to attend a function "excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages" on the night of the accident.

Her employer told ABC News in a statement that there was no "officially organized employee function around drinking" and that Komoroski had just started training for the job.

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 earlier this year.

Hutchinson's mother Annette said 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," Annette Hutchinson wrote in the description of a GoFundMe campaign set up in May to help pay for Miller's burial and Hutchinson's medical costs. "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."

Miller and Hutchinson 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's mother wrote. "Aric has lost the love of his life."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.