Photo: Folly Beach Police
Jamie Lee Komoroski, the woman accused of driving drunk during the fatal crash that killed new bride Samantha Hutchinson on her wedding night, appears to expect to soon be living her "best life" again, despite a facing a potential 25-year prison sentence, according to audio recently obtained by the New York Post.
Komoroski, 25, who was released on a $150,000 bond last Friday (March 1) after previously being denied bail, addressed her situation during a jailhouse call with her sister, Kelsi, recorded on October 8.
“It’s so funny because when you’re in a bad situation, you’re so upset and you’re distraught,” Komoroski said. “But in the future when you see your future self looking back at that time you wish you could tell yourself in that moment: ‘Stop freaking out, stop crying, it’s going to be ok. You’re happy now. And there’s no point being so upset. Everything is going to work out.’"
“No matter how bad it is in the moment. It’s going to work out,” she added.
Komoroski faces three charges of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide in relation to the crash in which she's accused of ramming a rented Toyota Camry into a golf cart carrying Samantha, her new husband, Aric Hutchinson, while three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit. Police said Komoroski was driving about 40 MPH over the 25-MPH speed limit at the time of the crash and smelled of alcohol but refused a field sobriety test.
Aric Hutchinson, who was hospitalized for serious injuries sustained, filed a civil lawsuit against Komoroski and the bars that allegedly overserved her prior to the crash. The 25-year-old was booked on April 28 and reported to have had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, as well as banged her head on a nurse's desk after being denied usage of a phone.
Komoroski was visited by family and friends in the days following her arrest, which included being worried that people would think she's a bad person because of the crash and giving her boyfriend permission to leave her. She also claimed that other inmates would get out on bond while she continued to wait for her trial.
“There’s been people that have, like, killed people on purpose before and, like, they’ve gotten out on a bond,” Komoroski reportedly told friends while warning them to not be “stupid like I was because all it takes is one time” via the Post and Courier.
“I didn’t mean it to happen,” Komoroski added via the Post and Courier. “I just feel like a terrible person, like, I didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”
Komoroski also told her parents she hoped the judge knew "how regretful and remorseful I am, and that I’m not a bad person and that I’ll never do anything bad again,” which led to her father telling her not to speak about the crash because her conversations were being recorded.
“But I wanted to make sure that I could say an apology and they said I would be able to say an apology,” she said, which led to him responding, “Listen, stop talking about it" and later predicted she would get less than 15 years in prison but warned "you're going to have to do time."