Jamie Lee Komoroski was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the drunk driving that killed Samantha Miller

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) – Jamie Lee Komoroski was sentenced to more than two decades in prison after pleading guilty Monday afternoon in a Charleston County courtroom.

Komoroski, 27, pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in serious bodily injury or death and one count of involuntary manslaughter. The charges stem from a traffic accident in Folly Beach that killed bride Samantha Miller on their wedding night in April 2023 and injured three other people, including Miller’s new husband Aric Hutchinson.

Following the hearing, Judge Deadre Jefferson sentenced Komoroski to 25 years for involuntary manslaughter, 15 years for the two counts of driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury and 10 years for the driving under the influence charge. The sentences are concurrent, meaning Komoroski will spend 25 years in prison, Jefferson said.

“She won’t come back to life for 10 or 20 years,” said Lisa Miller, Samantha’s mother. “And we won’t come back to life for 20 to 25 years. That’s a whole life.”

After pleading guilty, Komoroski admitted she was addicted to alcohol and realized she had selfishly ignored the impact her actions had on others. She vowed to dedicate her life to helping people struggling with addiction and raising awareness about the dangers of drunk driving. She expressed that she was “devastated, deeply ashamed and saddened” by her actions.

“I wish I could go back and undo this terrible tragedy. But I can’t. I will live the rest of my life with deep regret for what happened that night,” she said. “I pray that God will stand by my victims and their families and loved ones for the rest of their lives.”

According to police, Komoroski was driving 65 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone and her blood alcohol level was three times over the legal limit. Miller died at the scene. She was still wearing her white wedding dress.

READ MORE | “Jamie Lee Komoroski admits guilt in fatal Folly Beach crash.”

Komoroski was in custody from April 29, 2023 to March 1, 2024, when Judge Michael Nettles then granted her bail after her trial failed to begin.

Komoroski was initially denied bail in August 2023 because she was a flight risk. However, because officials could not begin her trial until March 2024, she was granted bail of $150,000.

The fatal accident occurred on April 28, 2023 at approximately 10:15 p.m. in the 1200 block of East Ashley Avenue

According to the affidavits, a responding officer observed a large accident scene involving a golf cart (later identified by police as an LSV) that was sideways into a gray Toyota Camry. The officer also saw several victims lying throughout the crash site.

READ MORE | “Judge changes bail for woman charged with drunk driving, killing her bride on their wedding night.”

When the officer located Miller, she was not breathing and had no pulse. The officer initiated life-saving measures against her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other patients were unconscious, the officer said in the affidavits, noting that two had “open fractures and massive trauma to the body.”

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) officials later told officials that two patients were in critical condition and one might not survive the night.

Komoroski was subsequently arrested and charged with three counts of DUI resulting in death and/or serious bodily injury and one count of reckless vehicular homicide.

As police approached her at the scene, an officer noticed an odor of alcohol coming from her breath and body. When asked if she had anything to drink, Komoroski said she had a beer and a tequila drink about an hour earlier.

When asked where she felt on a scale of one to 10 – completely sober to most impaired – she answered an eight.

According to the affidavits, she was “very unsteady” on her feet when she stood up and almost fell – the officer said they helped her get up.

Documents show Komoroski refused a field sobriety test and was uncooperative at the scene. She also refused to provide a breath sample at the police station. A warrant was obtained for two vials of blood and taken by the MUSC nurses. They were sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for analysis.

According to the affidavits, Komoroski was placed on suicide watch at the Charleston County Jail because she told an officer at the hospital that she wanted to kill herself.

Komoroski and her former employer, Taco Boy, are still embroiled in the wrongful death lawsuit. However, with the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, the way is now clear for civil lawsuits.

Miller’s groom, Hutchinson, won an $863,000 legal settlement from three bars that served Komoroski, as well as her insurance company and the company from which she rented her car.

“I wish I had died that night,” he said. “I wish I had seen it coming. I would have jumped off the golf cart, so you would have just run over me.”