A bride had just gotten married in South Carolina. Hours later, an intoxicated driver killed her, police say
By Devon M. Sayers, Shawn Nottingham and Ashley R. Williams, CNN
It should have been one of the happiest days of newlywed Samantha Miller’s life. But five hours after saying “I do,” the 34-year-old bride died when she was hit by an alleged drunken driver in Folly Beach, South Carolina, as she left her wedding reception on Friday night.
Miller was riding in a golf cart-style vehicle with husband Aric Hutchinson and two others when the driver hit them, causing the cart to roll several times, according to a GoFundMe post written by Hutchinson’s mother and verified by CNN.
Three other passengers were injured, two seriously — including Miller’s husband, according to Chief Andrew Gilreath, the public safety director for Folly Beach, a beachside community near Charleston.
The golf cart-style vehicle, decorated with cans and a “just married” sign, “was quite mangled, and it was on its side,” Gilreath said. First responders attempted to revive Miller, but she died at the scene, he said.
The crash tossed the cart more than 100 yards, Annette Hutchison wrote in the GoFundMe post. Her son suffered several broken bones and a brain injury, and has had at least one reconstructive surgery, she 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,” his mother wrote. “Aric has lost the love of his life.”
The campaign created Sunday for burial and medical costs has received over $183,000 as of Monday.
Miller, who was from North Carolina, died of blunt force injuries, according to the Charleston County Coroner’s Office.
The suspect, Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, was charged with one count of reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm, online court records show. Her vehicle was traveling 65 mph in a 25 mph zone, according to Gilreath.
CNN was unable to locate an attorney for Komoroski.
Low-speed vehicles are allowed to operate on highways where the speed limit is 35 mph or less, according to the South Carolina Legislature. The newlywed couple’s vehicle was legally on the road that night, Gilreath said.
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