Kit Roberts
A bereaved groom has sued the alleged drunk driver who has been accused of killing his wife on their wedding day.
Aric Hutchinson, 36, was celebrating getting married to Samantha Miller, 34, on Folly Beach, South Carolina on 28 April.
The newlyweds had been travelling in a golf cart when they were hit by a vehicle alleged to be travelling at 65mph in a 25mph zone.
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The car was allegedly driven by 25-year-old Jamie Lee Komoroski. Blood alcohol tests carried out by police revealed that she had a blood alcohol level of 0.26 percent. This was more than three times the legal limit in the state of South Carolina, according to local media reports.
Hutchinson was hospitalised as a result of the collision, but Miller was killed instantly, police confirmed.
The mother of the groom later told how she was given her son's wedding ring in a plastic bag at the hospital just hours after Miller placed it on his finger. Two other members of the family were also injured in the collision.
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Now, Hutchinson is suing the woman who is alleged to have been driving the car. He has also started legal proceedings against a number of bars which are alleged to have served her alcohol.
The lawsuit describes the driver as 'bar-hopping' before getting behind the wheel, and claims that the bars which did so failed in their duty of care to the public by serving her alcohol despite her being 'noticeably and visibly intoxicated'.
Lawyers have also stated that bars have 'a duty of care not to allow patrons to become intoxicated, to not serve alcohol to intoxicated persons'.
Hutchinson's lawyer, Danny Dalton, said: "There are still many details we don’t know about the sequence of events leading up to the tragic crash, but by filing a lawsuit, we can begin the legal discovery process that allows us to get the answers that Samantha’s family deserves.
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"We hope that the bars will cooperate with us and provide whatever they have. I would think that given the tragic nature of this case, they would want to own up to whatever happened or didn't happen for that matter."
He added: "You go from the happiest moment of your life to an unfathomable tragedy. They are all recovering physically and emotionally. As you can imagine the groom is doing okay. He has a wonderful tight-knit family from both on his side and his late wife's side."
A GoFundMe page was started to help cover funeral costs and medical bills has raised over $725,000 (£583,000) at the time of writing.
If you would like to donate, you can do so here.