(CNN) — It should have been one of the happiest days of Samantha Miller’s life: she had just gotten married. But just five hours after saying “I do,” the 34-year-old bride was struck and killed by an allegedly drunk driver in Folly Beach, South Carolina, as she was leaving her wedding reception Friday night.
Miller was in a golf cart-type vehicle with her husband, Aric Hutchinson, and two other people when the driver struck them, causing the cart to roll multiple times, according to a GoFundMe post written by Hutchinson’s mother and verified by CNN.
The other three passengers were injured, two seriously, including Miller’s husband, according to Chief Andrew Gilreath, director of public safety for Folly Beach, a coastal community near Charleston.
The golf cart-type vehicle, decorated with cans and a “just married” sign, “was pretty battered and was on its side,” Gilreath said. Rescuers tried to revive Miller, but she died at the crash site.
Annette Hutchison wrote in the GoFundMe post that the accident threw the car more than 300 feet. Her son suffered several broken bones and a brain injury, requiring at least one reconstructive surgery, she said.
“Aric’s wedding ring was delivered to me in a plastic bag at the hospital, five hours after Sam put it on his finger and his vows were read,” his mother wrote. “Aric lost the love of his life.”
The campaign created on Sunday for burial and medical expenses has received more than $183,000 as of Monday.
Miller, who was from North Carolina, died of the trauma, according to the Charleston County coroner’s office.
The suspect, Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, was charged with one count of manslaughter and three counts of felony driving under the influence resulting in serious injury, online court records show. Her vehicle was traveling at 100 km/h in a 40 km/h zone, according to Gilreath.
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, was charged in the incident. (Credit: Charleston Sheriff’s Office)
CNN was unable to locate an attorney for Komoroski.
Low-speed vehicles are allowed on roads where the speed limit is 60 km/h or less, according to the South Carolina legislature. The newly married couple’s vehicle had the legal right to drive on the road that night, Gilreath said.
