The grieving family and husband of a bride killed on her wedding night in a crash with a drunk driver last year have been awarded a large settlement.
Judge Robert Young ruled on Tuesday that the parents and newlywed husband of Samantha Hutchinson, as well as two other victims of the crash, will receive a $1.3million settlement from her wrongful death suit against accused drunk driver and the restaurants and bars that served her,WCSC reports.
Jamie Lee Komorosk, 26, was three times over the legal blood alcohol content limit after a day of barhopping, when she allegedly plowed into a golf-cart carrying newlyweds Aric, 37, and Samantha, 34, from their beach wedding ceremony on Folly Beach, South Carolina, April 28, 2023.
She is now serving house arrest in an upscale enclave of Charleston, and has not yet turned over any money in the settlement.
Aric Hutchinson and the family of his wife, Samantha, have received a $1.3 million settlement from their wrongful death suit
Among those that have agreed to chip into the settlement are a number of bars in Lowcountry, as well as Hutchinson's Progressive policy and Enterprise Rent-a-Car, which had rented the SUV Komoroski was driving that night.
Two other beach bars settled in October for allowing Komoroski to get 'visibly intoxicated' before she crashed.
The money will now be split between Aric, her parents and two others who were in the golf cart with the newlyweds that night.
But settlements still have yet to be reached with all of the defendants named in Hutchinson's wrongful death suit, as litigation continues with the Taco Boy restaurant.
The wrongful death suit states that Komoroski had been an employee of Taco Boy for a short time.
It argued that the restaurant was negligent by 'organizing, arranging and supervising an employee function/meeting knowing that excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages would be purchased for, served to, and/or consumed by the employees attending the function/meeting.'
Taco Boy, though, has argued that Komoroski was not in their restaurant and was not served alcohol there on the night of the fatal crash, according to WCSC.
It also denies that there was any 'organized employee function around drinking.'
Komoroski was was three times over the legal blood alcohol content limit after a day of barhopping when she allegedly ploughed into a golf cart carrying the newlyweds and two friends
The impact of the crash sent the golf cart flying 100 yards away, causing it to flip over several times
But when Komoroski smashed her SUV into the Hutchinsons - who were just leaving their wedding in a golf cart with two other passengers - she was traveling at 65mph.
The impact threw the cart 100 yards, causing it to flip over several times.
The Hutchinsons were then rushed to a local hospital, but the bride succumbed to her injuries and died in her wedding dress.
Her husband, Aric, was left with serious injuries and had two reconstruction surgeries, as well as suffering numerous broken bones and a brain injury.
In a later interview with Good Morning America, he recalled their final moments together before the fatal crash.
'The last thing I remember her saying was she wanted the night to never end,' he said.
The next thing he knew, he said he was in the hospital asking where his wife was.
'That's when [my mother] told me there's an incident and that Sam didn't make it,' he told ABC.
Komoroski was indicted on one count of felony DUI resulting in death, two counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury and one count of reckless homicide
In the aftermath, Komoroski was indicted on one count of felony DUI resulting in death, two counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury and one count of reckless homicide.
She admitted having two drinks an hour before the crash: a beer and a tequila pineapple co*cktail.
But she would later admit in a call on December 11, months before she was released on a $150,000 bond, that she is an 'alcoholic addict because anything that makes me feel different or takes me away from what I'm supposed to be feeling, I used to try to do.'
'I just didn't think life had any meaning. I was extremely lonely and didn't get life. I could never just sit down with my thoughts,' she continued in a phone call obtained by the New York Post.
Komoroski is now serving house arrest in an upscale enclave of Charleston
Komoroski failed to make bond last August when her attorneys offered a host of reasons why she was no flight risk and suggested that she be released into the care of her mother in New Jersey and undergo rehabilitation for an alcohol problem.
Denying bond at the time the Charleston County judge included the provision that Komoroski would be released on a $150,000 bond if she were still awaiting trial by March 2024 but that she would have to remain in Charleston County.
Under the terms of her bond, Komoroski cannot leave her apartment for anything other than 'medical emergencies' or court dates.
She must also wear a GPS and SCRAM ankle bracelet – a device which checks alcohol consumption every thirty minutes by monitoring sweat.
If she is ultimately convicted for the fatal crash, the count of FelonyDUI Resulting in Death alone carries a fine of up to $25,000, and a mandatory one-year prison sentence with a maximum sentence of 25 years on the table.
If sentenced to the minimum Komoroski could be out in less than two months given time already served.
