Groom Whose Bride Was Killed by Drunk Driver in Golf Cart Crash on Wedding Night Accepts $160K Settlement

The groom of a South Carolina bride who was killed by a drunk driver on their wedding night in April 2023 has accepted a final settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit he filed.

Samantha Miller, 34, died shortly after marrying Aric Hutchinson when an intoxicated driver, Jamie Lee Komoroski, rear-ended the golf cart carrying the couple to their hotel. Komoroski was allegedly driving 65 mph on April 28, 2023, when the crash occurred in Folly Beach. A final settlement in the wrongful death case Hutchinson brought against Komoroski and several South Carolina bars — where she had reportedly been “bar hopping” before the collision — was approved on Tuesday, Dec. 9, according to WCBD, WRAL and WCSC.

Komoroski’s vehicle insurer will pay $160,000 to Hutchinson, the outlets reported. Of that amount, Hutchinson will personally receive $104,586.67, with the remaining funds going toward attorney fees and other associated costs. Earlier settlements in the case totaled more than $863,000.

Hutchinson’s attorney certified the agreement on his behalf on Tuesday, per Charleston County court records cited by WCBD. In return, Komoroski is released from any further civil claims in connection with the crash.

Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal previously said in a statement that Miller, who had been riding as a passenger in the golf cart, died at the scene from blunt force injuries sustained in the impact.

Hutchinson himself required multiple surgeries after the crash, having broken both legs and several bones in his face. Two other family members were also injured when the golf cart was “thrown over 100 yards and rolled several times,” according to a GoFundMe page created by Hutchinson’s mother.

Komoroski, who was 25 at the time, had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.261 percent — more than three times the legal limit — according to a toxicology report from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, as reported by WCSC. Data from her rental car showed she had been driving at more than twice the speed limit and only “briefly hit the brakes before she hit the golf cart around 10 p.m.,” the Associated Press previously reported.

In December 2024, Komoroski was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge of DUI causing death, two felony charges of DUI causing great bodily injury and one charge of reckless homicide.

Back in May 2023, Hutchinson made his first public appearance on Good Morning America, where he spoke about losing his wife just hours after they married.

“I remember waking up — just kind of foggy, out of sorts — and I could see my mom’s face,” he recalled in the emotional interview. “You could tell that something was wrong. And I asked her, ‘Where’s Sam, where’s Sam?’ And that’s when she told me about the incident and that Sam didn’t make it.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” he continued. “That night going on an all-time high to an all-time low. It’s pretty rough to comprehend. … 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].”