ARIC Hutchinson married his late wife Samantha Miller in April 2023, but a shocking accident sadly meant Samantha passed away that very night.
The couple’s vehicle was struck by another diver, Jaime Lee Komoroski, who was jailed in December 2024 after an emotional display by Aric in court.
Horrifying incident
Aric married Samantha in April 2023, in a beautiful ceremony near Folly Beach, South Carolina.
After a long night of celebrating, he jumped into a golf cart with his new wife and two family members named Benjamin and Brogan Garrett.
While they were driving, they were suddenly struck by Komoroski’s vehicle which was travelling at 65mph in a 25mph zone.
The then-25-year-old driver was also drunk.
Sadly, Samantha was killed at the scene but Aric was rushed to hospital and successfully treated, despite having several severely broken bones.
After his wife passed away, Aric assumed control of her estate which created tension with his new mother-in-law Lisa Miller.
Lisa stated that she wanted to be the estate’s representative and soon a bitter legal battle ensued.
Lisa informed the Post and Courier that she and Aric had multiple discussions and reached an agreement that Sam would prefer them to do things together since they are the two most significant individuals in her life.
“I never wanted to challenge the validity of the marriage. I never wanted to dishonor Sam. But I feel like Aric is dishonoring my daughter in going against her wishes.”
Aric’s lawyer responded: “Aric has been more than generous with Lisa Miller — offering her half of the money — and she has repaid him by threatening to bring a frivolous challenge to the validity of his marriage to Sam.
One would hope that Ms. Miller would have too much respect for her own daughter to do that.”
Komoroski’s sentencing
In December 2024, Komoroski was sentenced to 25 years in prison for driving under the influence and killing Samantha.
When she appeared in court, Komoroski said: “On the night of April 22, 2023, I chose to drink and drive, which resulted in the death of Samantha Miller.
“This is the worst decision I have ever made in my life.”
Living with loss
Aric revealed to the court that he thinks about the night he lost his wife “every single day”.
He also shared his last memories with his wife and talked about the moment that he realized that she had died.
Aric said: “She told me she didn’t want the night to end, I kissed her on the forehead and then the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital.
“I see my mom’s face, still wearing the wedding dress from the night before, and I knew instantly.
“So I asked for Sam, I knew she wasn’t there.”
The bereaved husband added: “I’ve seen more doctors, therapists, and psychiatrists than I can count, and I still feel the same as I did when I found out that day.
“I wish I had died that night. I wish I had seen it coming. I’d have jumped off the golf cart so that you’d only have run me over.
“We did not get hit, we got ran through at 65mph.”
There has been a surge of support for Aric online with many social media users paying tribute to his late wife.
