'It was the best day of her life’: Family of Samantha Hutchinson shares details of wedding hours before her death by drunk driver
FOLLY BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA: The final picture of 34-year-old bride Samantha Hutchinson, who was tragically killed after a drunk driver slammed into the newlywed couple’s golf cart, showed her and her groom Aric Hutchinson, 36, running under sparklers as friends and family celebrated their union. The picture, which was taken just a few hours before the fatal crash on April 28 that left the groom also critically injured, was shared by Aric’s mother, Annette Hutchinson, as she created a GoFundMe page to pay for her daughter-in-law’s funeral and her son’s medical bills.
Now Samantha’s sister, Mandi Jenkins, narrated the last hours of the wedding day. She said, “I’ve never seen the light in [Samantha] eyes shine as bright as that day, from the moment that day started, getting ready for her wedding at the house. It was the best day of her life," reports ABC 4 News.
READ MORE
'I was p***ed off': Bride left fuming after in-laws turn up at wedding in black to mourn the Queen
Groom and five guests die MYSTERIOUSLY hours after wedding while bride and 7 others are hospitalized
'The best night of her life'
Samantha's mother Lisa Mille recalled saying, "They announced a surprise dance for the most important person in Sam's life. Which was me and we danced to Bruno Mars. Just the way you are. That's our song." The mother said, "On the beginning of the golf cart ride, she said I wished this night could go on forever. The best night of her life."
Details of Samantha Hutchinson's death
The groom's mother revealed on a GoFundMe page, "Sam died from her injuries. Aric is in a serious condition and has had one of two reconstruction surgeries, numerous broken bones, and a brain injury, he will have a long recovery." And added, "My son-in-law Benjamin Garrett and grandson Brogan Garrett from Morgan, Utah were escorting the couple from the reception in a golf cart when they were struck from behind by a drunk driver traveling 65 MPH in a 25 MPH zone. The golf cart was thrown over 100 yards and rolled several times." The grieving mother said she was handed her son's wedding ring. She wrote, "I was handed Aric’s wedding ring in a plastic bag at the hospital, five hours after Sam placed it on his finger and they read each other their vows. Aric has lost the love of his life."
Samantha and Aric were just two blocks away from their home when their cart was hit. Samantha’s sister, said, as per ABC 4 News, "We were in our pajamas sitting on the balcony beside Bert's at our place where we're staying and started to hear the sirens. And the sirens kept going." They dropped a message to Samantha, but did not get any reply. The mother said, "We just went down to the scene. And we just got out of the truck and just running. Screaming Sam, Sam," while Mandi described, "Caution tape, so many lights, it was dark. But there were so many lights."
Who is the driver?
According to Folly Beach Public Safety, Jamie Lee Komoroski, a 25-year-old female driver was behind the wheels that hit the cart. She has been charged with three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm or death, and one count of reckless homicide. Talking about it, the mother said, "I don't know what the distraction was, but she literally ran into my daughter going 65 miles an hour. Sammie and Aric were on the back of the golf cart and so she basically just whammed my child." The sister, on the other hand, said, "That person made a careless mistake. And it's not a mistake. It is a life-changing event."
Sharing a tribute on Facebook, Michael D Peifer, who seems to have been the wedding musician, said he was "heartbroken" to hear of the accident that "tragically ended the life of the beautiful Bride, Samantha only minutes after leaving her perfect wedding". "They were such a sweet couple, many smiles, laughs and tears at such a perfect wedding," he wrote.
