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Jamie Lee Komoroski pleaded guilty in the Charleston County Courthouse to criminally negligent homicide, a felony causing death, and two counts of felony assault causing great bodily harm before sentencing.
Also suffered in the 2023 crash. groom Aric Hutchinson, who wept in court as he recalled the last moments he spent with Samantha Miller – some of their only moments as husband and wife.
“In the golf cart she told me she didn’t want the night to end and I kissed her on the forehead and then the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital,” Hutchinson said.
Komoroski, 27, was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for felony DUI causing death by Judge Deadra Jefferson in Charleston County Circuit Court.
She was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for each count of felony DUI causing great bodily harm and 10 years for negligent homicide.
All sentences will run concurrently.
Police said Komoroski had been drinking at several bars on April 28, 2023, and was driving 105 km/h on a narrow Folly Beach road with a 40 km/h speed limit when she crashed into the golf cart, leaving from wedding.
Her blood alcohol level was 0.26 percent, more than three times the legal limit to drive.
The 34-year-old bride died still wearing her wedding dress.
The groom suffered a traumatic brain injury and multiple broken bones.
The cart was thrown 91 meters from the crash.
After pleading guilty, Komoroski said she now realizes she is addicted to alcohol and selfishly doesn’t care how her actions affect others.
She vowed to spend the rest of her life helping addicts and warning about the dangers of drinking and driving.
She said she was “devastated, deeply ashamed and sorry” for what she had done.
“I wish I could go back and undo this terrible tragedy. But I can’t. I will live the rest of my life with deep regret for what happened that night,” she said.
She said all her work will be dedicated to Miller’s memory.
“I pray that God will stand by my victims and their families and loved ones for the rest of their lives,” Komoroski said.
A number of friends and family of Miller and Komoroski spoke at the hearing, which lasted nearly three hours.
Komoroski’s supporters asked the judge to be lenient because she is young, remorseful and still capable of doing good.
Many of Miller’s family asked for a harsh sentence, saying they can never get it back and that the decisions Komoroski made that night were selfish and have permanently scarred many lives.
Komoroski looked at most of Miller’s family, including Hutchinson, as they spoke, occasionally wiping away tears.
Hutchinson said she’s seen more doctors and therapists than she can count because of her physical injuries and mental anguish from the crash, and that she thinks about it every day.
“I wish I had died that night. I wish I had seen it. I was going to jump out of the golf cart so you just ran over me,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson won $863,000 in lawsuit settlements from three bars that served Komoroski, as well as her insurance company and the company she rented her car from.
Before the sentencing, Miller’s father told Komoroski he was disgusted that she never seemed to take responsibility.
He told her she could apologize, but he didn’t want to hear a word.
“I’m going to hate you for the rest of my life, and when I get to hell and you get there, I’m going to open the door for you,” Brad Warner said.
“You ruined so many people’s lives.”
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