Bride dead, groom injured after getting hit by drunk driver hours after wedding
A North Carolina woman who had just exchanged vows with her husband died in a car crash caused by a drunk driver hours after her wedding.
In a report by the Associated Press, 34-year-old Samantha Miller had just gotten married to her partner Aric Hutchinson and was leaving their wedding reception in a golf cart when a driver who was over twice the speed limit slammed into the back of their vehicle.
The collision, which happened on a beach road in South Carolina, had the golf cart being thrown over 100 yards and rolling several times, according to a online fundraiser written by Hutchinson’s mother, Annette.
The groom and two other passengers were injured in the crash. Hutchinson, who had been in critical condition, was described to have sustained "numerous broken bones and a brain injury" and had to undergo "one of two reconstruction surgeries."
"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. Aric has lost the love of his life. This fundraiser will help pay for Sam's burial and medical costs for Aric and his family," Annette wrote.
Lisa Miller, the mother of the bride, hopes that the tragedy will serve as a warning against drunk driving.
"We hope that whoever sees this — maybe it will help somebody that has made those poor decisions before stop or maybe not ever make that decision by seeing that real people are affected," Lisa told the Associated Press.
The intoxicated driver, identified to be 25-year-old Jamie Lee Komoroski, has now been charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence resulting in great bodily injury. Her intoxication was caused by one beer and a drink with tequila an hour before the crash.
According to a police affidavit carried by the New York Post, she is now under suicide watch after she reportedly told an officer at the hospital that she wanted to kill herself.