Share
3rd December 2024
11:16am GMT
A man whose bride was killed by a drunk driver on their wedding day has recalled her last words in court.
Aric Hutchinson married the love of his life Samantha Miller on 28 April 2023 at a venue in Folly Beach, South Carolina.
However, just moments after they left the venue in a golf cart they were hit by a car driven by Jamie Lee Koromoski, who was exceeding the speed limit and was intoxicated at the time of the accident.
Hutchinson suffered serious injuries in the crash and Samantha was killed, while family members Benjamin and Brogan Garrett who had also been in the buggy also suffered injuries.
Koromoski was arrested and charged with reckless vehicular homicide, felony DUI causing death and two counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury.
In court, she pleaded guilty to the charges against her and has now been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Hutchinson recalled his wife's final moments in court.
He said: "I think about that night every single day, and the last moments I had with Sam on the golf cart.
"She told me she didn't want the night to end, I kissed her on the forehead and then the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital.
"I see my mom's face, still wearing the wedding dress from the night before, and I knew instantly. So I asked for Sam, I knew she wasn't there."
Hutchinson got emotional in court as he said he wished he'd have 'jumped off the golf cart so you'd have only run me over'.
He continued: "We did not get hit, we got ran through at 65 miles per hour, there's no way the three of us should be alive, all four of us should have died that night.
"You took the greatest human being I've ever met, she's not coming back, she's gone. She was my world."
Koromoski was sentenced to 25 years in prison for causing Samantha's death, along with 15 years for the serious injuries caused to Hutchinson and 10 years for reckless homicide but the sentences will run concurrently.
Koromoski told the court she was 'devastated, deeply ashamed and sorry' admitting that she was addicted to alcohol and at the time did not care how her actions affected others.
She said: "I wish I could go back and undo this terrible tragedy. But I cannot. I will live the rest of my life with intense regret for what happened that night."
