Tearful Aric Hutchinson describes excruciating moment he found out his new bride was dead — after waking up in hospital
The South Carolina groom who lost his newlywed wife in a DUI crash just hours after their wedding recalled Friday about first learning she was dead — and his heartbreaking last memory of their special day.
With tears streaming down his face and his voice cracking with emotion, Aric Hutchinson spoke to ABC’s “Good Morning America” about the April 28 collision that turned his life upside down.
“I remember waking up. It’s kind of foggy, out of sorts,” Hutchinson told ABC correspondent Eva Pilgrim. “I could see my mom’s face, and you could just tell that something was wrong. I asked her, ‘Where’s Sam? Where’s Sam?’ And that’s when she told me there was an incident and that Sam didn’t make it.”
Aric, 36, and Samantha, 34, were riding in a golf cart with family members from their wedding reception at Folley Beach when a Toyota Camry allegedly doing 40 mph above the speed limit rear-ended their slow-moving vehicle.
The impact sent the golf cart flying 100 yards and rolling over several times.
The bride, who was still in her wedding dress, died at the scene.
The groom was hospitalized with a brain injury and multiple broken bones in his face and body.
Everything you need to know about <strong>Jamie Lee Komoroski</strong>
What will happen to her?
Komoroski was charged with three felony DUIs resulting in great bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide after killing a bride and injuring a groom who had just left their wedding reception. She is facing up to 25 years in jail.
Komoroski, 25, plowed into Samantha Hutchinson’s golf cart, which had four people on it, while driving around 65 miles per hour, according to Folly Beach police.
Sam Hutchinson was declared dead at the scene by responding officers. Her new husband, Aric Hutchinson, was hospitalized with severe injuries.
Police said Komoroski’s blood-alcohol content was three times over the legal limit.
Komoroski reportedly smelled of alcohol but refused to take a sobriety test, according to police.
Aric filed a wrongful death suit against the alleged drunk driver and the bars that he says served her before the horrific incident.
Komoroski has been let out of jail and is under house arrest after being granted bail with strict conditions on Friday, as revealed by The Post.
A judge said she should be granted bail if Charleston County couldn’t bring the case to trial before March 1.
Another victim, the groom’s relative Ben Garrett, was also seriously hurt.
Hutchinson said he does not remember the moment of impact — although he wishes he did.
“The last thing I remember [Samantha] saying was she wanted the night to never end,” he recounted through sobs.
The driver of the Toyota, 25-year-old Jamie Komoroski, has been charged with three counts of felony DUI resulting in death or injury and one count of reckless homicide.
Hutchinson, who has been recovering at home for more than a week, spoke movingly of his joyful memories from the night of the wedding — before the crash changed everything.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it — that night going from an all-time high to an all-time low,” he said. “It’s pretty rough to comprehend.”
Hutchinson recalled the feeling of being surrounded by family and friends who had traveled from all over the country to celebrate his and Samantha’s nuptials.
“She was so happy,” he said of his late bride.
When asked if he had a message for the driver, Hutchinson said, “She stole something. She stole an amazing human being that should not have been taken.”
On Wednesday, Hutchinson filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Komoroski and several bars that he claims overserved her alcohol on the night of the crash.
According to arrest affidavits, Komoroski said she had a beer and a shot of tequila before getting behind the wheel.
Komoroski’s toxicology report showed that her blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit to drive.
At the time of her arrest, Komoroski, originally from New Jersey, was dazed and belligerent, and told first responders that she “did nothing wrong,” according to police documents.
Last week, Komoroski’s high-powered attorneys cautioned the public not to “rush to judgment” and to wait for all the facts “to come to light.”
Meanwhile, Hutchinson is left to plan his wife’s funeral while continuing to live in the apartment they previously shared.
“It’s got Sam written all over this house, so it’s nice to be here and have good memories,” he said.
