Community honors Samantha Miller Hutchinson
by Jenny Peterson | Staff Writer
It was an unbelievable tragedy on Folly Beach and the news quickly spread around the world.
Aric Hutchinson had officially started his life as a newlywed, marrying the love of his life, Samantha Miller Hutchinson, on Folly Beach, and enjoyed a reception at the Folly Beach County Park. Following a sparklers exit, the two were whisked into a low-speed vehicle golf cart, sitting side-by-side en route to a beach house.
They had just a few miles to go and a lifetime of plans laid out ahead. Within minutes, those dreams were snatched away.
At that exact moment, around 10 p.m., an alleged drunk driver, going 65 miles per hour on East Ashley Avenue—40 miles over the speed limit—crashed into their low-speed vehicle on East Ashley Avenue, killing 34-year-old Samantha on the scene. She was still in her wedding dress. The three other passengers were seriously injured.
The groom, Aric Hutchinson, suffered brain damage and fractured bones in his legs and face, which requires intense physical therapy on top of having to cope with the unthinkable emotional loss.
From happily-married newlywed to widower within hours, the news garnered national and worldwide attention with newspapers as far away as the United Kingdom and Australia reporting on the tragedy.
Aric said through the chaos, he’s finding strength in remembering who Samantha was as a person and how she would want to be remembered: as a beautiful, authentically happy soul who had just celebrated the best day of her life at the place she loved most, Folly Beach.
A marketing professional from Charlotte who loved her cats and visiting Folly Beach, Aric said to know “Sam” was to love her.
“I remember her beautiful heart, how she changed people and how she enjoyed life,” Aric said. “Sam lit up every room she walked into. Sam was the type of person who, after you met her, you are changed for the better. I fell in love with Sam years ago, but when I saw her for our wedding, I fell even deeper in love.”
Samantha first visited Folly Beach as a child and it was always her dream to live near the Edge of America, Aric said.
After spending the COVID pandemic together in Aric’s home state of Utah, the couple moved to Charleston in the fall of 2021. Samantha found an apartment on James Island specifically because of its proximity to Folly Beach.
“It was Sam’s dream to live in Charleston by the beach and they have loved living on James Island for the past 21 months,” said Annette Hutchinson, Aric’s mother.
Folly Beach was an important part of their day-to-day lives. They would often go to Folly for sunrise and sunset.
“(Folly Beach) was everything,” Aric said. “Sunrises, sunsets, laying out.” Samantha’s favorite season on Folly was spring and her favorite time of the day on the beach was sunrise, Aric said.
She loved the beach so much that she chose an oceanfront Folly wedding venue to tie the knot. Her wedding dress, a fitted deep V-neck white gown with lace detailing, hung on a custom hanger that read “Mrs. Hutchinson.”
“The wedding was absolutely perfect. Sam had painstakingly planned every detail and she was so happy that day,” recalls Annette Hutchinson.
Folly Beach has always been a close-kit community and residents have rallied around Aric and the couple’s families offering love and support. Two weeks after the accident, the Folly Beach community organized a paddle out—a spiritual symbol of surf culture that pays tribute to people who have passed away.
About 100 people and dozens of surfers participated in the waterfront memorial for Samantha. Flowers were distributed to surfers who paddled out and formed a circle. Flowers were also given to those grieving on land to place along the shore.
Aric, in a beach wheelchair, his right leg wrapped in a plastic bag over a cast, sat stoically on the beach that Samantha loved so much while the community paid her tribute, remembering a life filled with joy and love. It was the first time Aric had been back to Folly Beach since the accident.
“I was filled with happiness and sadness,” Aric said.
The Folly Beach community continues to shower their families with support in every way they can, “food, donations, hugs and support,” Aric said. The “Folly Boat” on the side of Folly Road was painted in Samantha’s honor for drivers to see on their way to the beach.
A GoFundMe page created in the days following the tragedy raised over $731,000 from nearly 20,000 individuals to help with burial costs and medical expenses.
Dead Low Coffee on E. Ashley Avenue celebrated it’s one-year anniversary on Wednesday, May 24 and raffled off prizes from local businesses, including McKevelin’s Surf Shop, Still Water Floatation, Drink Levity non-alcoholic spirit, and others with 100 percent of the raffle ticket sales going towards Sam and Aric Hutchinson’s GoFundMe.
Aric, who always imagined that May 2023 would mark the start of his life as a newlywed, is now on a long road of emotional and physical recovery and filing the inevitable lawsuits that follow such a senseless tragedy.
He continues to remain grounded in remembering Samantha, the love of his life, and the positive energy she brought to those around her.
“It is impossible to fully capture just how unbelievably special she was,” her obituary reads.
“She laughed with no judgement, cried without remorse and was the person anyone needed at any particular time,” Aric said. “I’ll remember her beautiful heart, how she changed people and how much she enjoyed life.”
What Lessons Can be Learned?
Folly police chief hopes DUI-related tragedy is a wake-up call for citizens and visitors
by Jenny Peterson | Staff Writer
In the wake of the April 28 fatal collision on East Ashley Avenue where an alleged drunk driver going 40 miles over the speed limit smashed into a low-speed vehicle that was carrying a newlywed couple, killing the bride, Folly Beach Chief of Public Safety Chief Andrew Gilreath said the tragedy should be a reminder for citizens to take accountability as it relates to impaired or dangerous driving.
“Quite honestly, with all the options available to folks such as ride share apps, cell phones, etc., there is no excuse for driving impaired,” Chief Gilreath said.
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, a New Jersey native who was living in Charleston, was charged with reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury or death. She was taken into custody on April 29 and remains at The Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center.
Investigators stated that Komoroski was travelling 65 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour speed zone when she crashed into the low-speed vehicle that was transporting the newly married couple from their wedding reception to a house nearby. Samantha Miller Hutchinson was killed at the scene and three passengers, including the groom, were seriously injured.
After refusing field sobriety tests and a breathalyzer, Komoroski had blood taken at a local hospital for analysis, which showed a 0.261 perent blood alcohol level, more than three times the legal limit to operate a vehicle. The surviving groom, Aric Hutchinson, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Komoroski and several bars and restaurants she had visited that day leading up to the crash.
As of press time, Gilreath said the Folly Beach Public Safety Department has logged between 80-100 man-hours into the investigation of the crash and has worked with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, Charleston City Police, Charleston County Solicitors Office, Charleston County Coroner’s Office, SC Probation and Parole and Charleston County EMS.
“We will continue to follow leads that may come in,” Gilreath said.
Folly Beach Public Safety will continue to be vigilant about enforcing speed limits and pulling over drivers for reckless operation.
“We have made over 700 more traffic stops this year than this same time period last year,” Gilreath said. “This crash happened in spite of those additional efforts. That said, we will continue to focus on traffic safety.”
