In April 2023, a newlywed husband became a widower after losing his wife on a South Carolina beach road just hours after their wedding. Recently, a judge in South Carolina has approved a partial settlement of over $1 million for the bereaved husband.
Jamie Lee Komoroski, who was 26 years old at the time, was reportedly driving under the influence when she collided with a golf cart carrying a newlywed couple. Tragically, the accident resulted in the death of Samantha Miller, who was 34 years old, and injuries to her husband, Aric Hutchinson, as well as his brother-in-law and nephew.
In May of 2023, Hutchinson initiated legal action by filing a lawsuit for wrongful death against Komoroski, local bars and businesses, and 20 Doe defendants. As a result of the lawsuit, some of the businesses involved reached a tentative settlement with the mourning groom last October. Recently, the court granted approval for this agreement.
According to Hutchinson’s accusations, Komoroski engaged in bar hopping that night. Furthermore, he accused several establishments including The Crab Shack, Taco Boy, The Drop In/Folly Deli, Snapper Jacks, and El Gallo of overserving her. These establishments allegedly allowed the accused drunk driver to continue buying alcohol despite being aware of her intoxicated state.
According to a CBS News report, The Crab Shack was ordered by the court to pay a sum of $640,000, The Folly Deli to pay $320,000, and Snapper Jacks to pay $320,000. Additionally, Progressive Northern Insurance Company was ordered to pay $75,000 and Enterprise Rent-a-Car to pay $24,000. The total settlement amount adds up to approximately $1.379 million.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division reported that the driver under the influence was driving at a speed of 65 mph during the crash. It happened in a primarily residential area where the designated speed limit is only 25 mph.
Police stated in an affidavit that Komoroski refused to take a field sobriety test and had a strong smell of alcohol. Despite this, she claimed to have only had one beer and a tequila drink an hour prior to the accident. Onlookers reported that she repeatedly insisted that she had done nothing wrong.
After the accused declined to undergo a field sobriety test and provide a breath sample, law enforcement officials obtained a warrant to extract blood. Upon conducting the tests, it was revealed that her blood alcohol content was .261, which is more than three times the permissible limit in South Carolina. Following this, she was taken into custody and placed under suicide watch at the Charleston County jail, as she had expressed suicidal tendencies to the officer. The charges levied against her include three counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide.
The defendants were accused of wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress in the lawsuit. Specifically, the bars were targeted for their allegedly negligent, grossly negligent, and/or reckless hiring, supervision, training, and retention practices. Interestingly, the lawsuit also disclosed that Komoroski was employed at Taco Boy and had reportedly been drinking there as well.
The lawsuit specifically accused Taco Boy of serving Komoroski with an excessive amount of alcohol during a work event, and subsequently failing to prevent him from leaving and driving while under the influence.
In response to the incident, Taco Boy has issued a comprehensive statement clarifying that they had terminated the employment of Komoroski shortly after the event. The restaurant firmly refuted any allegations that Komoroski had visited the premises on the day of the fatal accident. Additionally, they stated that there was no truth to the claims of any organized work or drinking event involving the restaurant’s employees.
The settlement agreement does not disclose the name of the restaurant involved.
