CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A judge has awarded the victims of the Folly Beach car crash that killed a bride on her wedding night and injured the groom and two others over $1 million.
The crash happened April 28, 2023, at approximately 10 p.m. when a vehicle rear-ended a golf cart in the 1200 block of East Ashley Avenue, Folly Beach Police Chief Andrew Gilreath said.
The person killed in the crash, Samantha Miller, had just gotten married to Aric Hutchinson earlier in the evening, and the occupants of the golf cart were taking the newlywed couple back to their rental home when they were struck by a vehicle driven by then-25-year-old Jamie Lee Komoroski.
Hutchinson and his lawyer Danny Dalton were in the Charleston County courtroom during Tuesday’s hearing and said they were pleased with the settlement. However, a settlement has not yet been reached with all the defendants with litigation continuing with Komoroski and Taco Boy.
“What we are here for today stems from a tragic incident,” Dalton said. “The decedent, Ms. Samantha Miller, was killed in a driving collision. Her husband, Mr. Aric Hutchinson, is here with us. He is the proper personal representative for the estate.”
The total settlement towards Hutchinson, the estate of Miller and the two other golf cart passengers is $1.3 million but after attorney and legal fees, the total is over $863,000.
Despite fees, an additional reason the total was less can be attributed to an ongoing estate dispute between Hutchinson and the bride’s mother, Lisa Miller, according to Dalton. In December 2023, Lisa challenged if her daughter and Hutchinson were ever legally married and asked to replace Hutchinson as representative for her daughter’s estate.
“The expenses as for the estate of Samantha Miller are a bit higher than you would anticipate. There was an estate dispute that took a significant amount of time and resources,” Dalton said.
The Folly Beach bars included in the lawsuit that settled Tuesday include the Crab Shack, the Drop-In Bar and Deli and Snapper Jacks.
Each of the named establishments “should have known that they had the authority and obligation to train, control, and supervise their respective employees, agents, or servants, including any bartenders, servers or any other employee” to not overserve patrons alcohol and not place others at risk of incurring serious injury or death, the lawsuit states.
Enterprise Rental Car also settled, because Komoroski was driving a rental car the night of the incident. Investigators determined Komoroski was going 65 mph at the time of the crash.
El Gallo Bar and Grill was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit but was dropped after providing a receipt that Komoroski had not purchased alcohol.
Judge Roger Young oversaw the hearing and expressed how difficult wrongful death hearings can be.
“I, like a lot of people, I am aware of this case from the amount of media coverage it had. Very tragic circumstances,” Young said. “By definition, any time we have a wrongful death suit they are not easy to bear. No money can bring back people.”
Below is a breakdown of the damages each business agreed to pay in the settlement:
- Crab Shack – $640,000
- The Drop-In Bar & Deli – $320,000
- Snapper Jacks – $320,000
- Enterprise Rent a Car – $240,000
- Samantha Miller’s Progressive Policy – $75,000
A settlement of $1.355 million was reached before attorney fees. A total of $863,331.50 will be paid to Samantha Miller’s Estate.
In naming Taco Boy, the lawsuit states Komoroski had been an employee for a short time. The lawsuit alleges the restaurant was negligent by “organizing, arranging, and supervising an employee function/meeting knowing that excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages would be purchased for, served to, and/or consumed by the employees attending the function/meeting.”
When the lawsuit was originally filed, Taco Boy said Komoroski was not in their restaurant and was not served alcohol there on the day of the fatal crash. The statement also denies there was any “organized employee function around drinking.”
It is not yet known where litigation stands in settling with Komoroski and Taco Boy.
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