CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – A judge sentenced the woman involved in a 2023 DUI crash on Folly Beach that killed a bride and injured two others hours after her wedding to multiple charges pleaded guilty.

Jamie Lee Komoroski was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of driving under the influence, two counts of driving under the influence resulting in serious bodily injury or death and one count of involuntary manslaughter.

Judge Deadra Jefferson sentenced her to 10 years for involuntary manslaughter, 15 years for the two charges of drunk driving and aggravated assault, and 25 years for aggravated drunk driving causing death.

Because the sentences run concurrently, she faces a total of 25 years in prison, Jefferson said.

The judge questioned Komoroski about her decision to plead guilty to the charge. Komoroski told the court she was guilty, had not been coerced into admitting guilt and was waiving the right to a jury trial.

The charges Komoroski faced stemmed from an accident on April 28, 2023 at Folly Beach. Folly Beach Police Chief Andrew Gilreath said the accident occurred around 10 p.m. that night in the 1200 block of East Ashley Avenue.

Investigators said the vehicle Komoroski was driving was traveling at a speed of 65 miles per hour when it struck a golf cart containing newlyweds Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson and two of Hutchinson’s family members.

“I feel like the punishment fits the crime,” Aric Hutchinson said after the verdict. “I think she’s sorry. But that doesn’t change the fact that Sam isn’t here, my wife isn’t here, the family we planned, all our hurts. So it’s definitely going to take some time.”

Investigators said the vehicle Komoroski was driving was traveling at a speed of 65 miles per hour when it hit a golf cart carrying newlyweds Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson, as well as two of Hutchinson’s family members, his brother-in-law Benjamin Garrett and his son, found. Brogan.

Miller died and the other three were injured in this accident.

Hutchinson’s family members were driving the newly married couple back to their rental home in the golf cart when the accident occurred.

Family members speak to the judge before the verdict is announced

Before the judge imposed the sentence, relatives of Miller and Hutchinson spoke in court. Members of Komoroski’s family and their supporters also spoke to the judge.

Benjamin Garrett told the court that he was driving the golf cart the night of the accident and said his only job at the wedding was to drive the bride and groom back to their location, something that haunts him to this day.

“He said his only job at the wedding was to drive the bride and groom back to where they were staying – something that still haunts him to this day.

“It was my only assignment and I didn’t finish it,” he said.

Garrett was also seriously injured in the accident. He said he still thinks to this day whether he could have done something differently while driving that could have saved Miller’s life.

“We didn’t get hit, we got driven through,” Hutchinson said. “All four of us should have died that night. I think Sam saved us. That’s how she is, she would have taken one for all of us.”

Komoroski was the last to speak before the verdict was announced.

“For the rest of my life I will carry this guilt and take full responsibility,” she said.

The affidavit states that officers could smell alcohol on Komoroski’s breath and on his body. Komoroski told officers she had a beer and a drink containing tequila about an hour before the crash, the affidavit said.

When asked how she was feeling on a scale of one to 10, with one being completely sober and 10 being the most impaired, she replied that she was at an eight, the affidavit said.

Komoroski was then asked to complete a field sobriety test but was refused, the affidavit states. She was found to be unsteady on her feet and uncooperative prior to transport, the affidavit states.

After refusing a breath sample, Komoroski was taken to MUSC to obtain blood samples that were sent to the South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement for testing.

The SLED report found that Komoroski had a blood alcohol level of 0.261%, more than three times the legal limit in South Carolina.

Back in March, Judge Michael Nettles set Komoroski on $150,000 bond, placed her under house arrest and stipulated that she could only leave the house for medical emergencies or legal proceedings. Also a condition of bond was that she wear a secure, continuous remote alcohol monitoring device. SCRAM devices measure the wearer’s blood alcohol level through sweat.

She was also forced to surrender her passport, live in Charleston County and not drive.

Nettles had previously declined bail at the prosecutor’s request on the condition that she be willing to try her case by March.

Hutchinson filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Komoroski on May 17. The lawsuit alleges that Komoroski had a “day of drinking and bar-going” and that the establishments she visited that day had a duty to “exercise due care” when serving alcoholic beverages. In addition to Komoroski, the lawsuit also names Snapper Jacks, The Drop-In Bar and Deli, The Crab Shack, Taco Boy, El Gallo Bar and Grill and Bottle Cap Holdings, LLC.

Several of the companies named in the lawsuit have reached settlements with Hutchinson.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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