A South Carolina drunk driver claimed her sentencing was ‘unwarranted’ in a request to see her jail time decreased. The woman killed a newlywed bride minutes after her reception.
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 26, pled guilty to two counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury and one count each of felony DUI resulting in death and reckless homicide resulting in death on Dec. 2, but claimed her sentencing was too harsh.
Komoroski’s drunk driving resulted in the death of a newlywed bride, Samantha Miller, 34, just after her wedding reception. While driving, she struck the back of Miller’s golf cart as the couple left their wedding reception in Folly Beach, S.C.. In addition to Miller’s death, her husband, Aric Hutchinson, his brother-in-law, and nephew were left injured.
Nonetheless, Komoroski’s legal team asked the court to lower her sentence from the determined 15 years for each DUI, resulting in injury convictions, 25 years for the DUI resulting in death conviction, and 10 years for the reckless homicide conviction.
They pointed to other examples of similar cases, writing in the motion: “Unlike Ms. Komoroski, all similarly charged defendants received some type of sentence credit for pleading guilty, saving the State and victim’s family members from the emotional difficulty and trauma of a contested jury trial. These other cases likely did not garner the same degree of media attention; however, the significant media interest cannot serve as an aggravating factor justifying a longer sentence.”
Komoroski’s lawyers wrote that the sentence was “unwarranted and grossly disproportionate” after examining others which occured in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and “neighboring jurisdictions.” Typically, according to the lawyers, the sentences ranged from nine to 18 years in prison.
They conceded that “the gravity of the offense was severe,” but cited additional circumstances in an effort to change the sentencing, including a lack of violent criminal history and her lack of prior DUIs.
According to police, Komoroski was speeding during the incident at 65 mph through a residential area with a speed limit of 25 mph. At the time, she allegedly declined a field sobriety test, claiming she only consumed two drinks about an hour before the accident. After the collision, a witnessed claimed, the woman emphasized she “did nothing wrong.”
However, after receiving a warrant, police conducted a blood test which reaffirmed their concern of a lack of sobriety. The results turned over a blood alcohol content of .261 which is over three times the legal limit.