Bond denied for suspect in crash that killed bride, seriously injured groom in SC

WSOCTV.com News Staff,Evan Donovan
·2 min read
1

A judge denied bond Tuesday for a woman accused of driving under the influence before hitting an killing a Charlotte woman on her wedding night, WCIV reports.

It happened around 10 p.m. on April 28 in Folly Beach, which is near Charleston.

Sam Miller (Hutchinson), 34, was killed after the low-speed vehicle she, newlywed Aric Hutchinson and two family members were in was rear-ended by alleged drunk driver Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, of James Island. Hutchinson and the other family members were seriously hurt.

When Komoroski’s blood was drawn later in police custody, it showed a blood alcohol content of 0.261 -- more than three times the legal limit, according to a toxicology report.

Komoroski is charged with three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide. Investigators said Komoroski was driving 65 miles per hour when she hit the motorized cart. The street where it happened is a 45 mile-per-hour zone.

Family and friends came from across the country to celebrate the couple’s big night after months of wedding planning.
Family and friends came from across the country to celebrate the couple’s big night after months of wedding planning.

On Tuesday, Komoroski appeared in court for a second bond hearing after she had previously been denied. According to a WCIV reporter in the courtroom, the Miller and Hutchinson families asked the judge for no bond to be set and to hold Komoroski in jail.

The judge decided to deny bond again for Komoroski, saying she is a flight risk.

‘It’s torn apart my family’

“She didn’t just kill my daughter -- she killed all of us,” said Lisa Miller, the mother of Sam Miller, in court.

She gave gut-wrenching testimony while begging the Charleston County judge to keep her daughter’s alleged killer in jail.

“The defendant made a conscious decision to get into her vehicle after drinking all day and take away my daughter,” she said. “So I do believe she’s a danger to the community because I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through this. It’s torn apart my family,” she said in tears.

But Komoroski’s mother begged the judge to grant her bond to get out of jail.

“I’m devastated and...I can’t find perhaps the exact words to express my sympathy and sorrow for them,” Traci Komoroski said. “I do want you to know that if you find that Jamie will be bonded, I will take full responsibility.”

But the judge denied Komoroski’s request, ruling she will stay in jail until her trial, which is scheduled to begin in March 2024.

The judge said if the trial doesn’t start by then, Komoroski will get $150,000 bond with conditions that include house arrest.

She faces up to 55 years in prison if convicted.

(WATCH PREVIOUS: Charlotte bride killed, husband seriously hurt in wedding night crash)