A bride was killed and her groom was seriously injured by a drunk driver who struck their golf cart as they were leaving their wedding reception in South Carolina, authorities said.
The blushing bride, Samantha “Sam” Hutchinson, 34, was photographed grinning ear to ear as she exited the party around 10 p.m. Friday — moments before a drunk driver rear-ended the golf cart taking her and husband Aric Hutchinson from their wedding venue in Folly Beach, news station WYFF 4 reported.
“I was handed Aric’s wedding ring in a plastic bag at the hospital, five hours after Sam placed it on his finger and they read each other their vows,” the groom’s mother wrote on a GoFundMe page, which identified the couple as victims of the collision.
“Aric has lost the love of his life,” she said.
Hutchinson’s mother said the newlyweds were being escorted in the golf cart by two relatives of the groom, Ben Garret and Brogan Garrett, who were also injured in the crash.
“The golf cart was thrown over 100 yards and rolled several times,” the page said.
The car had “struck from behind by a drunk driver traveling 65 MPH in a 25 MPH zone,” according to the GoFundMe.
Aric suffered a brain injury and broke numerous bones, his mother said. The majority of his face is bruised and he remains in serious condition at the hospital, where he has undergone two reconstructive surgeries.
Ben, one of the passengers, is also in serious condition, according to the page.
The driver of the car, Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, was arrested and charged with DUI involving death and reckless homicide.
Komoroski’s blood results are pending, but an investigation into the crash determined she was driving 65 mph when she struck the golf cart, police said.
The GoFundMe fundraiser, which was launched by Hutchinson’s mother, will help pay for the bride’s burial and medical costs for the groom and his family.
The couple made their home both in the groom’s home state of Utah as well as South Carolina, according to the GoFundMe. The bride originally hailed from North Carolina.
Samantha’s employer, XenTegra, an international IT provider based out of Huntersville, North Carolina, shared news of her death on LinkedIn, noting she was an “integral member” of its team.
