A woman accused in a DUI crash that killed a bride on her wedding night and injured three others, including the groom, pleaded guilty to multiple charges Monday afternoon.
CBS affiliate WCSC-TV reports that Jamie Lee Komoroski pleaded guilty to a charge of felony DUI, two counts of DUI causing great bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide.
On the night of April 28, 2023, authorities said Komoroski was behind the wheel of a rental car that rear-ended a golf cart carrying newlyweds Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson in Folly Beach, a city located on Folly Island southeast of Charleston. They had been married just hours earlier, and Miller was still in her wedding dress.
/ AP
Miller died in the crash and Hutchinson suffered a brain injury and numerous broken bones. Two other family members riding in the golf cart were also injured.
Authorities said Komoroski was driving 65 mph in a 25 mph zone.
Komoroski told the court Monday she was guilty, was not coerced into entering the guilty pleas and was waiving a jury trial to which she would be entitled, WCSC reported.
In June, a judge approved over $1.3 million in a partial settlement in a wrongful death case after Hutchinson sued Komoroski, whose blood alcohol content was “0.261, more than three times the legal limit,” according to a toxicology report released by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division. Included in the wrongful death lawsuit were Enterprise, the car company that rented her the vehicle, and numerous restaurants and bars that served Komoroski on the night of the accident.
Cara Tabachnick and
Faris Tanyos
contributed to this report.