The groom whose wife was killed hours after their wedding when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver shared the last thing she said to him.
“The last thing I remember her saying is she wanted the night to never end,” Aric Hutchinson told “Good Morning America” on Friday. “That’s the last thing she said to me.”
In an interview with the morning show, Hutchinson recalled the final moments he spent with his wife, Samantha Miller, before she was killed almost immediately after they left their reception in a golf cart on April 28.
“She was so happy. I mean, planning a wedding, as most people know, is extremely stressful. And she just had a weird, like, calmness that night,” he said.
Hutchinson was seriously injured in the crash, which took place April 23 in Folly Beach, South Carolina. The driver who allegedly struck them, 25-year-old Jamie Komoroski, was arrested and charged with three counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury/death and one count of reckless homicide, according to online jail records.
At the time of the crash, Komoroski’s blood alcohol content was at least 0.261, more than three times the legal limit, and she was driving at 65 mph according to an affidavit cited by local news outlet KOA-TV.
In a statement to HuffPost, Komoroski’s defense attorney, Chris Gramiccioni, asked for there not to be a rush in judgment.
“We cannot fathom what the families are going through and offer our deepest sympathies. We simply ask that there not be a rush to judgment,” Gramiccioni said. “Our court system is founded upon principles of justice and mercy and that is where all facts will come to light.”
Hutchinson said he wished he remembered the crash, but recalled the moment he woke up in the hospital where his mom broke the devastating news that Miller had been killed.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. That night, going from an all-time high to an all-time low, it’s pretty rough to try to comprehend,” Hutchinson told “GMA.” “We had family, friends, from all over the country — everywhere — there and everyone was just so happy. She was so happy. It was [one of the best nights of my life].”
A GoFundMe has raised more than $700,000 to help pay for Miller’s burial and medical costs for Hutchinson and two relatives who were also injured in the crash.
“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,” his mother, Annette Hutchinson, wrote on the GoFundMe page.
On Wednesday, Aric Hutchinson filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming Komoroski along with several local establishments where she was allegedly “bar hopping” throughout the day. The lawsuit also names her employer, Taco Boy, accusing a supervisor of organizing a function where workers had been drinking excessively on the day of the crash.
In a statement posted on Facebook responding to the lawsuit on Wednesday, Taco Boy denied any employee function that involved drinking and said Komoroski did not set foot in the restaurant on the day of the crash.
“On the day of the accident, Friday, April 28, 2023, we can confirm with absolute certainty that Jamie Komoroski did not set foot in Taco Boy, nor did anyone on our team serve her alcohol at the restaurant,” the statement read. “We have confirmed this by watching 16 hours of video footage from multiple cameras, staff interviews with everyone working that day, and by reviewing all sales receipts.”
According to the statement, Komoroski has also been terminated since the crash.
“Miss Komoroski had been recently hired at Taco Boy and had trained for only two days prior to the accident. She passed her background check and there were no red flags that would indicate ineligibility for employment,” the statement read.
The lawsuit alleged that Komoroski drank at several bars on the way to Folly Beach, and despite being noticeably intoxicated, the establishments allegedly continued to serve her, then allowed her to leave the bar and drive.
“The state grants restaurants and bars a license for the privilege to serve alcohol, and with that privilege comes a responsibility to the community to serve patrons responsibly and to deny service to individuals who are visibly intoxicated,” Danny Dalton, Hutchinson’s attorney, said in a statement.
According to the GoFundMe, Hutchinson’s brother-in-law Benjamin Garrett was taken to the burn unit, where he underwent surgery to address severe road rash and open wounds. Hutchinson’s injuries included two broken legs, broken bones in his face, a broken vertebrae, brain bleed and several stitches.
“There are still many details we don’t know about the sequence of events leading up to the tragic crash, but by filing a lawsuit, we can begin the legal discovery process that allows us to get the answers that Samantha’s family deserves,” the Hutchinson family attorney said. “This case is about keeping our community safe from drunk drivers, and an important part of that effort is making sure the establishments we entrust with liquor licenses live up to their responsibility to serve alcohol responsibly.”
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