South Carolina groom planning bride's funeral after tragic wedding day crash
Accused drunk driver Jamie Komoroski, 25, crashed into the couple's golf cart
The South Carolina groom, who lost his bride on their wedding day after an alleged drunk driver slammed into their golf cart, is recovering at home and planning his new wife's funeral, his family said.
Aric Hutchinson, 36, was left with bleeding in his brain, two broken legs, facial fractures and broken vertebrae in his back, his mother, Annette Hutchinson, posted in an update on his GoFundMe account.
"He is physically recovering at home while trying to come to terms with the loss of his beautiful wife," the mother wrote. "Now he is doing the unimaginable of planning Sam’s funeral along with her family."
Hutchinson and Samantha Miller, 34, had just left their wedding reception in Folly Beach under a canopy of sparklers when accused drunk driver Jamie Komoroski, 25, slammed her red Toyota Camry into the couple's golf cart.
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Groom Aric Hutchinson, left, was seriously injured and lost his wife, Samantha Miller, April 28, on their wedding night after their golf cart was struck by alleged drunken driver Jamie Komoroski. He's shown recuperating in the hospital, left, and with his deceased bride on their wedding day. (GoFundMe)
Miller, who was still wearing her wedding dress, died instantly. Hutchinson's brother-in-law, Benjamin Garrett, and his 17-year-old nephew, Brogan Garrett, were also on the golf cart and injured from the collision.
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"We are missing Sam more than anything. She instantly fit into our family from the first day Aric and Sam met. She was everything to my son and changed him for the better," the post says. "She could light up a room with her presence and had an ease about her. They shared many hopes and dreams for their future, including children and building a house."
Benjamin Garrett, left, shown in his hospital bed beside groom Aric Hutchinson. (GoFundMe)
Benjamin Garrett is still recovering in the hospital's burn unit "where he underwent surgery to clean out and redress his severe road rash and open wounds," according to the update on the "Sam and Eric" GoFundMe account that has raised more than $700,000.
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Brogan suffered minor injuries. The post included new photos of Aric Hutchinson in a wheelchair, with a swollen left eye and a cast on his right leg, next to Benjamin Garrett's hospital bed. Komoroski, who is jailed without bond, is charged with three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide, court records show.
Jamie Komoroski, left, in a photo posted to Instagram one week before she allegedly killed newlyweds Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson. On the right, Komoroski is pictured drinking wine with her friends. (Instagram)
Her defense lawyers, Nathan S. Williams and Christopher S. Gramiccioni, urged the public not to "rush to judgment" in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Komoroski was allegedly driving 65 mph, more than double the posted speed limit, on the dimly lit road when she hit the golf cart, which rolled several times and was thrown more than 100 yards.
Officers noted that she was unsteady on her feet, and she allegedly refused to take a field sobriety test on the scene.
Jamie Lee Komoroski is charged with killing bride Sam Miller and seriously injuring groom Aric Hutchinson on the couple's wedding night when she slammed her car into their golf cart. The couple is shown leaving their South Carolina wedding reception under a canopy of sparklers minutes before the collision. (Charleston County Sheriff's Office/GoFundMe)
Her blood was later drawn at the hospital to test her blood-alcohol level. Police have not released the results.
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