![Komoroski wiped her tears during her court appearance where she was denied bond (Image: FOX CAROLINA)](/upload/news/2023/08/02/81477.jpg)
The woman accused of killing a newlywed bride was seen sobbing in court as the victim's grieving mother expressed her devastation.
A judge ruled in a court proceeding Tuesday that Jamie Lee Komoroski will not be set free on bond. Komoroski, 25, is accused of killing Samantha Miller and injuring her groom, Aric Hutchinson, when she allegedly drunkenly slammed her Toyota Camry into the golf cart they were riding on, along a South Carolina beach road.
“She didn't just kill my child," Lisa Miller, the bride's mother, said tearfully in court. "She killed all of us.” Komoroski, appearing by video, frequently turned her eyes upward during a brief recess on Tuesday. She was sobbing and looked visibly shaken throughout the proceeding.
Komoroski faces charges of reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence causing death or great bodily injury. She will now remain behind bars awaiting trial after officials say she drove over twice the speed limit into a low-speed vehicle escorting a couple on their wedding day.
According to a toxicology report, her blood alcohol content exceeded three times the legal level. “This is certainly a very tragic situation for all concerned,” Circuit Judge Michael Nettles said after delivering his decision.
Judge Nettles asked that both parties work to expedite the trial, which is currently scheduled for March 2024. If the case is not heard by then, Komoroski can be released on a $150,000 surety bond. She would be subject to electronic monitoring and placed on house arrest.
Attorneys for Komoroski had sought a $100,000 bond under the conditions that she attends a rehabilitation program, remain under her mother’s supervision, and forgo access to a vehicle or alcohol. They argued that she did not pose a community danger or flight risk. They also noted her lack of prior criminal history and strong family support.
The horrific April 28 wreck was preceded by two very different series of events around a popular Charleston-area beach town. Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson had just left a wedding reception along the shore that included a surprise mother-daughter dance and a sparkler-filled goodbye.
Meanwhile, four establishments are accused of serving “copious amounts of alcohol” to Komoroski who allegedly grew “visibly intoxicated” while barhopping with new coworkers, the groom has claimed in a separate wrongful death suit.
Komoroski later refused to complete a sobriety test at the scene and required help standing from a responding officer, according to an affidavit..
Hutchinson, the groom, was discharged days later from the hospital after undergoing surgeries to help heal numerous broken bones that have placed him in a wheelchair. Two other passengers with the wedding party also survived their injuries.