Jamie Lee Komoroski sobbed how her life was 'going to be over' following crash that killed new bride: report
The alleged drunk driver accused of fatally mowing down new bride Samantha Hutchinson on her wedding night complained how her “whole life is going to be over” as she sat in a South Carolina jail two days after the devastating crash, according to a local report.
Jamie Lee Komoroski at times questioned why “this happened to me” — while saying she felt like a terrible person in other moments — during conversations with her parents and friends, according to jailhouse recordings obtained by The Post and Courier.
The 25-year-old, accused of killing Hutchinson, 34, when she crashed into the golf cart the newlywed was riding in following her Folley Beach wedding reception last month, was apparently inconsolable while on the phone with her parents.
“I can’t believe this is my life and my whole life is going to be over,” she reportedly said as she cried. “Oh my God. I just can’t believe this happened to me. Why me? I’m going to be here for years and years and years and years.”
After her father instructed her to “suck it up” and “get tough,” she replied: “I can’t. I want it to be over.”
Komoroski is accused of driving 65 mph when she allegedly slammed into the newly married couple’s golf cart. WCIV
This crime-scene photo shows a golf cart and car involved in a fatal Folly Beach crash in which a new bride died minutes after leaving her wedding reception. Folly Beach Department of Public Safety/Provided
Komoroski is facing three charges of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury or death and a count of reckless homicide.
She’s accused of drunkenly ramming her rented Toyota Camry into the slow-moving golf cart that was also carrying Samantha’s new husband, Aric Hutchinson, and two other passengers.
Komoroski — who smelled of alcohol but refused a field sobriety test — was going about 40 mph over the 25-mph speed limit before she barreled into the golf cart, police said.
Aric Hutchinson, who was seriously injured in the crash, has filed a civil lawsuit against her and the bars that allegedly overserved her.
Samantha and Aric kissing moments before the accident. Facebook / Michael D Peifer
After the April 28 crash, Komoroski arrived at the county jail with bloodshot eyes and reeking of alcohol, the Post and Courier reported, citing detention center logs. She reportedly even banged her head on a nurse’s desk when she was denied the use of a phone.
After she was put in a restraint chair, she continued to smack her head as she sobbed, according to the log.
In the days following the horrifying crash, loved ones tried to be supportive of Komoroski.
Samantha, 34, of North Carolina, died after the crash. Aric and a relative suffered serious injuries. Facebook / Michael D Peifer
“You don’t need to be sorry, Jamie, this is what happened and we’re going to take care of it,” her father said in a phone call, according to the newspaper. “We don’t care about what happened. We don’t care. We care only about you.”
When talking with her boyfriend and other pals on May 2, Komoroski expressed remorse and worried people would think she’s a bad person. She reportedly gave her boyfriend permission to leave her.
At times, she appeared more optimistic about her future, predicting she would not serve any prison time because the crash was an accident. She also said she was told by other inmates she would get out on bond while awaiting trial, according to the recordings.
“There’s been people that have, like, killed people on purpose before and, like, they’ve gotten out on a bond,” she reportedly told her friends while warning them to not be “stupid like I was because all it takes is one time.”
Komoroski remains behind bars without bail as she awaits trial.
She called the crash a “freak accident obviously.”
“I didn’t mean it to happen,” she said. “I just feel like a terrible person, like, I didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”
She later told her parents she hopes the judge knows “how regretful and remorseful I am, and that I’m not a bad person and that I’ll never do anything bad again.”
Her father warned her to keep quiet about the crash because all her communications were recorded.
“But I wanted to make sure that I could say an apology and they said I would be able to say an apology,” she said, to which he replied, “Listen, stop talking about it.”
Komoroski called the crash a “freak accident obviously.” Jamie Komoroski/Instagram
Komoroski the drunk driver who crashed into two newlyweds, killing the bride dressed as “Bud Light Year” for Halloween. Jamie Komoroski/Instagram
Her father in another phone call told her while he thought she would get less than 15 years in prison, he cautioned “you’re going to have to do time,” the Post and Courier reported.
Komoroski’s lawyers on Friday filed a motion to get her released on $100,000 bond, on the condition she would attend and complete an inpatient rehabilitation program, WCIV reported.
After the program, her legal team said she would live with her mother in New Jersey, where she is from, and not have access to booze or a vehicle, the station reported.
Lawyers Christopher Gramiccioni and Nathan Williams also insisted some media reports have painted their client as an “unrepentant villain who ostensibly had a history of partying behavior, extrapolated from handpicked photographs posted to social accounts appearing to depict the accused attending a Halloween party or socializing with friends while in college.”
If Komoroski was not allowed to live in New Jersey, her mother was willing to live in South Carolina before the trial and watch over her daughter, her lawyers said.
They said she is not a danger to the community if released on bond, according to the local outlet.
The attorneys said the statements Komoroski made in jailhouse conversations are that “of a distraught young woman.”
“She was seeking guidance and support from her family, as many daughters do,” they told The Post and Courier.
Source: New York Post
