The alleged drunk driver that is accused of killing a bride on her wedding day has reportedly lamented why this "had to happen to her" during phone calls from prison.
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, is charged with vehicular homicide and three counts of felony DUI (driving under the influence) after the tragic incident on April 28.
Aric and Samantha Hutchinson had left their wedding reception on a golf cart at around 10:00PM, when a car allegedly driven by Komoroski crashed into them, killing 34-year-old Samantha and leaving Aric with several broken bones and brain trauma.
The couple had been pictured beaming with joy at their wedding earlier in the evening before the tragedy, with Komoroski allegedly hitting them while driving at 65 mph in a 25 mph zone, according to an affidavit obtained by the New York Post.
The outlet says the affidavit detailed that police reported that Komoroski smelled of alcohol but refused to take a breath test, but informed police that she'd had one beer and one shot of tequila before the incident.
When given the opportunity to rate how sober she was on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being completely sober, she gave herself an eight, but court records stated that she had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit.
Komoroski had been put on suicide watch after being booked into Charleston County jail, and reportedly kept asking "why me" after the incident.
A judge last week rejected Komoroski's defense team's request that she be released on bond, and in new phone calls released from jail, she discussed her case with her father.
While there was no mention of the victims or the crash itself according to Court TV, Komoroski's father Chris Komoroski reportedly told her: "We can’t be doin' any better than what we’re doin'. You got the best team to help you, alright?", to which she responded: "I just don’t know why this had to happen to me."
Her father then said: "Because bad things happen to good people, honey. That’s why. It’s just fate. It’s just something that happened to you, and we are going to deal with it as best we can, OK? And it’s life-altering. You’re going to, you know, experience stuff that you’ve never thought of, and when it’s all over and done with, and everything is finished, you’re going to be a better person."
Komoroski then asked him: "What if they send me away for a really long time?", to which her father says they are "trying to avoid that", adding that people had praised the attorneys the family had instructed, adding: "They said 'The family must be mafia to hire them people,'" to which they both laughed.
In another call, Komoroski told her boyfriend about a meeting she had with Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano, who she says is "trying to help me out", adding: "[She] is like… ;I don’t want you in here, like, you should be with your family, like, blah, blah, blah.' So that’s like, really good."
Graziano has, however, also been ordered to pay $33,175 by a judge on Monday after she previously refused Gray Media Group's request to access the phone calls under South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
It came after some of the calls were released to the Post and Courier, as cited by Law and Crime, in which Komoroski said: "I can’t believe this is my life and my whole life is going to be over", "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", and: "But I wanted to make sure that I could say an apology and they said I would be able to say an apology."
The outlet also stated that Komoroski called the crash a "freak accident obviously" and said she felt like "a terrible person."
In the new calls released this week, Komoroski also spoke to her boyfriend, who has not been named, about the caliber of the food in jail, telling him: "Lunch today was… it was two slices of white bread, an uncooked piece of bologna… and then, like, cabbage, and two cookies."
When her boyfriend asked if there were any condiments available, she responded: "No! They fed us hotdogs one night. Two hotdogs and no ketchup or anything… no buns or anything… it’s so bad."
She then told him: "I just got my snack pack in the mail today so I have Doritos and, um, cookies. These cookies are so addicting! I already ate, like, 20 of them today. They’re the cookies that they give you for dessert. Sometimes you get cookies and sometimes you get cake. These cookies that they give you at this jail - I’m gonna start buying them when I come home. I’m not kidding. And I really like their soap!"
Komoroski will remain behind bars until at least March 2024, which is the deadline for prosecutors to bring the case to trial. If the case is not brought to trial by this time, Komoroski will be released on a $150,000 surety bond with electronic monitoring and house arrest.
