A joyous wedding celebration took a tragic turn when a drunk driver crashed into a golf cart carrying a newlywed couple in South Carolina, resulting in the bride’s death and severe injuries to the groom and another guest.
Police reported that 34-year-old Samantha “Sam” Hutchinson and her new husband, Aric Hutchinson, had just left their wedding reception on a golf cart in Folly Beach on Friday evening when a drunk driver rear-ended the vehicle. Samantha, who was captured smiling radiantly in a photograph taken moments before the accident, did not survive the crash.
According to a GoFundMe post set up by the groom’s mother, the golf cart, driven by Aric’s relatives Ben Garrett and Brogan Garrett, was catapulted over 100 yards and rolled multiple times due to the impact. The incident occurred when 25-year-old Jamie Lee Komoroski, the alleged drunk driver, struck the golf cart from behind while traveling at 65 mph in a 25 mph zone.
Aric Hutchinson sustained a brain injury, multiple fractures, and extensive facial bruising. He remains in critical condition and has undergone two reconstructive surgeries so far. Ben Garrett is also reported to be in serious condition.
Authorities arrested Komoroski at the scene and charged her with DUI involving death and reckless homicide. While blood test results are still pending, the investigation confirmed that she was driving at 65 mph at the time of the collision.
Police said that Komoroski refused to take a sobriety test and was uncooperative and intoxicated at the scene.
She was charged with three felony DUIs resulting in great bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide. She was put under suicide watch after she told a police officer she wanted to kill herself.
More than $500,000 has been raised in a GoFundMe campaign for the burial of Samantha Hutchinson and Aric Hutchinson’s medical expenses.