The drunk driver accused of mowing down new bride Samantha Hutchinson on her wedding night cried how her “whole life is going to be over” as she sat in a South Carolina jail two days after the fatal crash, according to a report. Attorneys of Jamie Lee Komoroski have slammed the portrayal of their client as a careless villain, claiming she poses no threat to the public.
According to jailhouse recordings, Komoroski had conflicting feelings about why “this happened to me” at different points in her chats with her parents and friends. Komoroski, 25, had a blood alcohol level three above the legal limit for driving when she struck newlyweds Samantha Miller, 34, and Aric Hutchinson, 36, according to authorities.
Repentance But too Late
Komoroski is accused of drunkenly driving her rented Toyota Camry into a slow-moving golf cart that was also carrying Samantha’s new husband, Aric Hutchinson, and two other people.
Police say Komoroski was traveling about 40 mph over the 25-mph speed limit when she plowed into the golf cart. Although she smelled of alcohol, Komoroski declined to take a field sobriety test.
Aric Hutchinson, who was seriously injured in the crash, has filed a civil lawsuit against her and the bars that allegedly overserved her.
According to detention center files, Komoroski arrived at the county jail after the April 28 crash with bloodshot eyes and a strong alcohol odor, the New York Post and Courier reported.
When she was refused access to a phone, she reportedly even banged her head on a nurse’s desk.
According to the log, she continued to bang her head as she wailed after being placed in a restraint chair. In the days that followed the horrific crash, Komoroski’s loved ones sought to encourage her.
“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.”
On May 2, Komoroski confided to her boyfriend and other friends her remorse and worried that others would perceive her as a negative person. According to reports, she also gave her boyfriend the go-ahead to separate.
She occasionally sounded more upbeat about the future, saying the crash was an accident and she wouldn’t go to jail.
According to the recordings, she also claimed that other prisoners had assured her that she would be released on bond while awaiting trial.
“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.”
Difficult Days Ahead
Records also reveal that Komoroski initially 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.”
GoFundMe
In a later conversation with her parents, she expressed her desire for the judge to understand “how regretful and remorseful I am, and that I’m not a bad person and that I’ll never do anything bad again.”
According to her lawyers, Komoroski has had a lot of repentance following the fatal crash.
“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.”
She said, “I can’t,” to her father’s advice to “suck it up” and “become tough. I desire for it to end.
Her lawyers, Christopher Gramiccioni and Nathan Williams, have filed a motion asking for bond set at $100,000 despite the fact that she was initially denied bond.
As part of the bond, the attorneys have proposed that Komoroski attend and complete an inpatient rehab program before staying at her mother’s house in New Jersey, where she would have no access to alcohol or a vehicle.
The lawyers also slammed the media’s portrayal of their client as a “villain,” which they say is false.
“Certain media reports paint a picture of the accused 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,’ read the motion.
“As this court is aware, such characterizations of the accused serve only to inflame public sentiment and remain irrelevant to the determination as to whether Ms. Komoroski poses a flight risk or any danger to the community,” it continued.
According to the motion, a strong family unit and Komoroski’s lack of criminal past show that she would not be a danger to the general public if released.
Komoroski remains behind bars without bail as she awaits trial.
