The husband of the woman who was struck and killed in a crash on the couple’s wedding night in South Carolina has said he is feeling “just as good as I can” after the April tragedy that left him seriously injured.
Aric Hutchinson and at least a hundred mourners gathered on Saturday at Folly Beach — the same beach where he and Samantha Miller, 34, married just hours before the deadly crash last month — for a memorial in honor of his late wife, CBS affiliate WCSC of Charleston reported.
Hutchinson, who sat in a wheelchair on the shoreline at the memorial, told the local station he’s “feeling pretty good” as he recovers from his injuries. He suffered a brain injury and broken bones as a result of crash, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his mother to help cover the cost of medical fees and the burial for Miller.
“My body’s getting back to where I can manage, I guess,” Hutchinson told WCSC at the memorial. “It’s just as good as I can feel with the situation, but obviously, today and the outpouring of people was just amazing. I know Sam would love it.”
“I mean, she’s a beach girl, through and through,” he added. “We do walk here almost every morning, and this is her send-off for sure. She’s up there smiling for sure.”
He and Miller had been leaving their wedding reception in a golf cart when the crash unfolded on April 28, the Associated Press reported.
A woman identified by police as Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, was accused of slamming into the back of the golf cart while allegedly driving while drunk and over twice the speed limit, according to an incident report.
Komoroski was arrested and charged with one count of reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm after the crash, according to online records, which show that she remains in police custody.
Besides the groom, two other people in the golf cart were also injured, Folly Beach Public Safety Department Director Andrew Gilreath told the AP, adding that the golf cart had lights and was legal to drive at night.
Komoroski was not physically injured in the crash, according to a news release from city officials.
A witness reported that Komoroski “was dazed and confused” at the scene and repeatedly said “I did nothing wrong” and that she wanted to go home, according to the incident report.
That report also states that Komoroski told a sergeant on the scene that she had two drinks that night: a beer and a “tequila pineapple an hour ago or so,” she allegedly told police.
Samantha Miller’s mother, Lisa Miller, told Fox News Digital that Komoroski “chose to drink, get behind the wheel, and plow down my daughter.”
“This is a conscious choice that a young lady made,” Lisa Miller alleged.
Komoroski’s attorney, Christopher Gramiccioni, said in a statement released last week: “We cannot fathom what the families are going through and offer our deepest sympathies. We simply ask that there not be a rush to judgment. Our court system is founded upon principles of justice and mercy and that is where all facts will come to light.”
Mirna Alsharif, Chantal Da Silva and The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
