Jamie Komoroski: Drunk driver accused of killing Samantha Miller released from jail after posting 150K bond
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: Jamie Komoroski, the 26-year-old driver who allegedly killed a bride on her wedding day in a DUI crash, has been granted bail and will be released from jail on Friday, March 1.
Komoroski will be under house arrest with an ankle monitor in Charleston County, South Carolina, pending her trial, according to the New York Post.
Jamie Komoroski faces four felony charges and a wrongful death lawsuit
Komoroski posted a $150,000 bond on Friday, March 1, after a judge ruled she could be released if her trial was not scheduled to start before March.
However, no trial date has been set yet and the court officials could not explain why, the publication noted.
Komoroski has been in custody at Al Cannon Detention Center since April 28 last year, when she allegedly plowed her Toyota into a golf cart.
The cart trailing "just married" was carrying Samantha Miller, 34, and her new husband, Aric Hutchinson, 36, as they left their beachside wedding reception at Folly Beach.
They were being escorted by his brother-in-law Ben Garrett and nephew Brogan when they were allegedly hit by Komoroski.
Miller died at the scene in her wedding dress while Hutchinson suffered a brain injury in the crash.
Hours before she had danced and posed for pictures with her family and friends. Miller had also reportedly told her friends she wished the day "would never end."
Aric Hutchinson filed a wrongful death lawsuit after
Jamie Komoroski was indicted by a grand jury in September 2023 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.
Her lawyers applied for bail in August but remained jailed at Al Cannon Detention Center after a judge deemed her a flight risk. Komoroski faces up to 25 years in prison, if convicted.
Aric Hutchinson also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Komoroski in May 2023, seeking damages from her and the five bars that allegedly served her alcohol even though she was visibly drunk.
He claimed that Komoroski "bar hopped" before getting behind the wheel and started drinking at El Gallo Bar and Grill near Daniel Island.
His lawyers argued that the bars had "a duty of care not to allow patrons to become intoxicated, to not serve alcohol to intoxicated persons."
Jamie Komoroski was three times over the legal limit and speeding
Prosecutors have charged that Komoroski was three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit and speeding, as her blood alcohol content was 0.261 traveling 65 mph in a 25 mph zone when she smashed into the golf cart.
She was allegedly so intoxicated that she appeared confused, telling responding officers, "All the sudden something hit me,’ and repeatedly saying, ‘I did nothing wrong," according to the incident report cited by Daily Mail.
The crash was so horrific that the cart was thrown 100 yards and rolled over several times causing Samantha's death while Aric survived with broken bones, and had to undergo two reconstruction surgeries.
Samantha Miller’s mother wants Jamie Komoroski on ‘the most restrictions possible’
Miller’s mother, Lisa Miller, told New York Post on Thursday, February 29, that she has campaigned for Komoroski to be on "the most restrictions possible" while on bail.
"I want that to include house arrest, ankle monitoring and not being able to leave the state," she said, adding that the past year has been "very challenging."
Reportedly Komoroski has been accused of receiving special treatment in the jail having in-person visits from her family, which is reportedly not a privilege normally extended to inmates.
Her phone calls to her parents reveal she had been discussing her wedding plans with her parents and her boyfriend.
Lisa said that she and her family were surprised that Komoroski was not released on bond earlier, but they were grateful that the judge kept her in jail, possibly due to their impact statements.
"We were all expecting she would have been bonded out first time [last summer] but luckily the judge kept her in, I think that was to do with our impact statements," she said.
