breaking
Groom whose wife was killed by drunk driver on wedding day sues driver and bars that served her
Aric Hutchinson lost his new wife just hours after their wedding
The man whose wife was killed by an alleged drunk driver on their wedding night has filed a lawsuit against the woman behind the wheel.
Aric Hutchinson and Sam Miller had been celebrating their wedding on Folly Beach last month when the golf cart they were travelling in was struck by a car allegedly driven by Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25.
Hutchinson ended up in hospital after the crash, but Miller sadly passed away as a result of her injuries.
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Police tested Komoroski's blood and found she had a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.261 at the time of the crash.
Hutchinson, who has now returned home from the hospital, decided to take action as he filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Komoroski on Wednesday (17 May).
The lawsuit also acts as an injury lawsuit on behalf of Hutchinson and two other family members who were travelling in the golf cart when the accident took place.
Announcing the lawsuit in a press release, attorneys acting on behalf of the family said: "The tragedy has shattered the entire family, beyond just the individuals named in the lawsuit."
As well as naming Komoroski as a defendant, the lawsuit lists several local establishments which allegedly served the driver before she got behind the wheel.
The bars have been accused of continuing to serve Komoroski despite her being 'noticeably and visibly intoxicated'.
Attorneys argued the establishments have 'a duty of care not to allow patrons to become intoxicated, to not serve alcohol to intoxicated persons'.
Danny Dalton, the lawyer representing Hutchinson, said investigations into the events surrounding the crash are still taking place.
"There are still many details we don’t know about the sequence of events leading up to the tragic crash, but by filing a lawsuit, we can begin the legal discovery process that allows us to get the answers that Samantha’s family deserves," Dalton said.
"We hope that the bars will cooperate with us and provide whatever they have. I would think that given the tragic nature of this case, they would want to own up to whatever happened or didn't happen for that matter."
Meanwhile, Dalton said, Hutchinson and the other two family members involved are still recovering from the accident.
"You go from the happiest moment of your life to an unfathomable tragedy," he said. "They are all recovering physically and emotionally. As you can imagine the groom is doing okay. He has a wonderful tight-knit family from both on his side and his late wife's side."
Topics: Jamie Lee Komoroski
Emily Brown