A woman accused of murdering a South Carolina bride on her wedding night while driving drunk exclaimed during a phone call from a county jail that her “life was over.”
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, lamented her predicament to family and friends during a number of phone calls at the Charleston County Jail, which were recorded obtained by the Post and Courier via an archive request.
Komoroski had a blood alcohol level three times the legal driving limit when she drove a Toyota Camry into newlyweds Samantha Miller, 34, and Aric Hutchinson, 36, on April 28, killing the bride and injuring the groom and others.
Two days later during a telephone conversation with her parents, she exclaimed: ‘Oh my God. I just can’t believe this happened to me. … Why me? … I’ll stay here for years and years and years and years.’
“I can’t believe this is my life… my whole life will be over,” she added.
Jamie Lee Komoroski (pictured in images obtained by the Post and Courier) lamented her predicament to family and friends during a number of phone calls at the Charleston County Jail
Komoroski had a blood alcohol level three times the legal driving limit when she drove a Toyota Camry into newlyweds Samantha Miller, 34, and Aric Hutchinson, 36
Her father tried to comfort her, but also firmly told her it was time to “suck it up” and “get hard.”
“I can’t,” she replied. “I want it to be over.”
Komoroski’s father also told her that she would have to get used to prison life, that she could come out a better person, but that she would have to “serve time.”
In another conversation, Komoroski explained that the media attention made her feel uncomfortable and asked her father why her case was so widely reported.
“That just scares me that the media is so involved,” she said. “Why are they so involved?”
“Because newspapers are sold,” her father replied. “That’s why, honey.”
“But that’s not going to help me,” she said. “Like, oh my god, it’s gonna be so bad when I get out.” Everyone’s going to be so mean to me.’
During videoconferencing from prison, she was seen wearing a striped suit and having watery and swollen eyes as she spoke into the phone.
She expressed regret and told her boyfriend and a small group of friends that she did not want to be taken negatively and optimistically predicted she would be out on bail within two months.
In the meantime, she said, she read books and listened to podcasts about history and science.
“I’ll be a genius when I get out,” she said.
During phone conversations with friends and family, Komoroski expressed remorse and optimistically suggested that a judge would treat her more leniently as a result. She is pictured on the phone at the Charleston County Jail in images obtained by the Post and Courier
Miller died and Hutchinson was seriously injured when their golf cart (pictured) rolled multiple times and was thrown 100 yards by Komoroski’s Toyota Camry
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, is pictured in a post-crash mugshot. She faces three charges of drunk driving and one charge of reckless vehicular homicide
Komoroski also compared her situation to others.
“There have been people who have intentionally killed people before and they’ve been released on bail, for example,” she told her friends in one phone call.
Of the crash, she said, “It was like a freak accident… obviously I didn’t mean to. I just feel like a horrible person, I didn’t mean any of that to happen.’
She also warned her friends not to make similar mistakes: “Please don’t be stupid like I was because all it takes is one time.”
“I pray and hope that the judge understands how sorry and remorseful I am, that I am not a bad person and that I will never do anything bad again,” Komoroski said in tears.
Miller and Hutchinson were driven to an Airbnb after their wedding reception at Folly Beach on April 28. The crash killed Samantha and seriously injured Aric, along with the other passengers.
Komoroski was reportedly driving 65 mph in a 25 mph zone and her blood alcohol level was 0.261 — more than three times the driving limit. She crashed into a golf cart, causing the buggy to be thrown 100 yards by Komoroski’s Toyota.
Hutchinson was confined to a wheelchair after suffering two broken legs, multiple facial fractures and a concussion. He is seen here at a beachside memorial to his late bride
Miller died of her catastrophic injuries and Hutchinson was left in a wheelchair after suffering two broken legs, multiple facial fractures and a concussion.
Komoroski faces three charges of drunk driving and one charge of reckless vehicular homicide. The drunk driving charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years and she could receive up to 10 years for the vehicular murder charge.
Although she was initially denied bail, her attorneys Christopher Gramiccioni and Nathan Williams filed a motion asking for $100,000 bail.
As part of that bond, the lawyers have suggested that Komoroski attend and complete an inpatient rehabilitation program before heading to her mother’s home in New Jersey, where there is no access to alcohol or a vehicle.