Suspect was ‘bar hopping’ before crash that killed new bride shortly after wedding: lawsuit
A lawsuit has been filed against a woman who was allegedly intoxicated when she crashed into a golf cart carrying a wedding party, killing the bride and severely injuring the groom last month on Folly Beach in South Carolina.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A lawsuit has been filed against a woman who was allegedly intoxicated when she crashed into a golf cart carrying a wedding party, killing the bride and severely injuring the groom last month on Folly Beach in South Carolina.
Jamie Komoroski is named along with various restaurants and bars which attorneys say she visited in the hours before the deadly crash.
The lawsuit alleges Komoroski began at El Gallo Bar and Grill near Daniel Island before traveling to Folly Beach, where they said she began bar hopping along Center Street. Stops included The Drop In, The Crab Shack, and Snapper Jacks.
“Despite being noticeable and visibly intoxicated at each of these establishments, Jamie Komoroski continued to be served, provided, and/or allowed to consume additional and excessive amounts of alcohol at each of them,” the lawsuit reads.
Attorneys further allege that Komoroski was then allowed to leave the bars and get into her vehicle where she drove east on East Ashley Avenue "in the opposite direction of her home" on James Island.
Aric Hutchinson and Samantha Miller had just left their wedding reception when Komoroski slammed into the back of their golf cart. Miller died at the scene from blunt force trauma while Hutchinson and others on the golf cart suffered serious injuries.
Records later revealed that Komoroski’s blood alcohol content was at least 0.261, which is more than three times the legal limit.
Authorities said Komoroski reached speeds of 65 mph in a 25 mph zone.
“The state grants restaurants and bars a license for the privilege to serve alcohol, and with that privilege comes a responsibility to the community to serve patrons responsibly and to deny service to individuals who are visibly intoxicated,” said Attorney Danny Dalton, who is representing Aric Hutchinson in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the establishments listed were negligent in the supervision and training of their employees, essentially allowing Komoroski to be overserved and not observed for her level of intoxication.
The lawsuit claims that Komoroski was a new employee of Taco Boy and accuses her supervisor of “ … organizing, arranging, and supervising an employee function knowing that excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages would be purchased for, served to, and consumed by the employees attending the function.”
The lawsuit also includes at least 20 John or Jane Does as defendants. Those individuals are unknown and unidentified at this time but could include "owners, managers, operators, agents, independent contractors, security companies" and others who had responsibility over the named bars and restaurants, according to the lawsuit.
“There are still many details we don’t know about the sequence of events leading up to the tragic crash, but by filing a lawsuit, we can begin the legal discovery process that allows us to get the answers that Samantha’s family deserves,” said Dalton.
The establishments named above declined to comment on the lawsuit when asked by Nexstar's WCBD.
Aric Hutchinson, who is now recovering at home, is named as a plaintiff, as is Benjamin Garrett, and Aric’s minor nephew, B.G.