The groom whose wife was struck and killed in a car accident on the couple’s wedding night has filed a lawsuit against the alleged drunk driver and the bars where he allegedly drank before getting behind the wheel, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
The civil lawsuit, filed Wednesday in South Carolina Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, charges driver Jamie Komoroski, 25, and the owners of five South Carolina bars: Snapper Jacks, The Drop In, The Crab Shack , El Gallo Bar & Grill and Taco Boy, where Komoroski worked, for negligence and wrongful death following the April 28 accident that killed Samantha Miller, 34, as she and her husband, Aric Hutchinson, 36, were leaving your wedding reception in a golf cart.
The lawsuit alleges that employees at the bars Komoroski allegedly visited on the night of April 28 overserved her “despite being visibly intoxicated,” and that she got behind the wheel after an alleged “alcohol-filled day of bar hopping.” ”.
Hutchinson, the groom, was seriously injured in the accident, suffering a brain injury and broken bones. A witness reported that Komoroski «was dazed and confused» at the scene and she repeatedly said «I didn’t do anything wrong» and that she wanted to go home, according to the incident report.
Hutchinson said at a memorial held Saturday for Miller that he feels «as good as I can about the situation.» He filed the lawsuit as a representative of Miller’s estate and on his own behalf, the complaint says.
Danny Dalton, the attorney representing Miller’s family, said in a statement that the case «is about keeping our community safe from drunk drivers, and an important part of that effort is making sure the establishments they serve that we trust liquor licenses to fulfill their responsibility to serve alcohol responsibly.”
A spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Revenue, Alcoholic Beverage Licensing, said the state does not require businesses to mandate alcoholic beverage server training, but maintains a list of recommended training programs on their website.
many states, including South Carolinaallow people to bring civil actions against businesses that serve intoxicated customers who subsequently cause harm.
Komoroski was arrested and charged with one count of reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in grievous bodily harm, according to court records online. She remains in custody.
Komoroski’s attorney, Christopher Gramiccioni, told NBC News in an email Thursday morning that he was not representing her in the civil case, saying in a statement: «We cannot understand what the families are going through and offer our My condolences. We simply ask that there be no rush to judge. Our judicial system is based on the principles of justice and mercy and that is where all the facts will come out.”
The lawsuit also names Komoroski’s alleged workplace, Taco Boy, and an unnamed supervisor of the Folly Beach restaurant as defendants, alleging that the supervisor organized a night of drinking for employees before the tragedy occurred and pressured Komoroski and others attendees drink a lot. The complaint states that the supervisor knew that «Komoroski had a prior history of alcohol abuse» but did not elaborate. He also claims that his employers allowed Komoroski to «just go off and drive after consuming a dangerous amount of alcohol.»
But Melissa Reardon, Taco Boy’s director of communications, said in a statement that there was no «organized employee function around drinking» that occurred on the day of the accident, and that 16 hours of video and interviews with staff show that Komoroski I did not go to the restaurant that day. She added that it was «false» that Komoroski’s supervisor knew anything about an alleged «prior history of alcohol abuse,» as the complaint alleges.
Reardon said Komoroski had recently been hired at the restaurant and trained just two days before April 28, adding that her employment has since been terminated.
«Our hearts go out to the family and friends affected by this tragedy,» Reardon said in the statement. «Despite the many visitors we receive, Folly Beach is a tight-knit community of locals and businesses, and we share in the anguish of this senseless loss.»
The complaint also alleges that Taco Boy management, and the management of the bars Komoroski allegedly visited that night, failed to properly train employees to recognize signs of intoxication and avoid overserving.
Reardon said in his statement that restaurant employees are «committed to serving alcohol responsibly» and require staff to complete training programs to prevent overservice.
A representative for Snapper Jacks declined to comment and directed calls to a corporate phone number, which was not answered.
Representatives for Drop In and El Gallo Bar & Grill declined to comment.
A representative for Crab Shack could not immediately be reached.
Accusations of a night full of alcohol
The lawsuit alleges that Komoroski began his evening drinking at El Gallo Bar & Grill in Charleston before driving 26 miles south to the town of Folly Beach, where he allegedly drank at three other local bars: The Drop In, The Crab Shack and Snapper Jacks. . .
“Over the course of several hours, Jamie Komoroski would drawl and stagger into each of these bars, consuming a variety of alcoholic beverages, including beer, tequila shots, house liquor shots, etc.,” he alleges. the demand.
«By the end of the night, Jamie Komoroski was seriously and dangerously intoxicated.»
Komoroski’s blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit in South Carolina, which is 0.08 percent, according to a toxicology report.
The incident report says she told a sergeant at the scene of the crash, which took place in the 1200 block of East Ashley Avenue in Folly Beach, that she had two drinks that night, a beer and a «tequila pineapple ago.» an hour or so,” he allegedly said. Komoroski refused to take any field sobriety tests and was staggering when a sergeant asked him to stand on the scene, according to the incident report.
A sergeant at the scene said he «smelled an odor of alcohol coming from his breath and from his person,» the incident report says, adding that Komoroski was driving 65 mph in a 25 mph zone, and in opposite direction to it. home — at the time of the accident.
A search for responsibility
The suit also names as defendants 20 unspecified ‘Jane Does’ who may have contributed to the events of the night.
Also named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with Hutchinson, are Benjamin Garrett, Hutchinson’s brother-in-law, and his underage son, who were driving the newlywed couple in a golf cart back to their accommodation for spend the night and suffered «terrible and permanent injuries» as a result of the accident, the complaint states.
Andrew Gilreath, director of Folly Beach’s public safety department, previously told the AP that the golf cart had lights and was cleared to drive at night.
Hutchinson and the other plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages from the defendants, according to the lawsuit.
Dalton, the family’s attorney, said they hope filing the lawsuit will allow them to learn more about what happened in the hours and minutes before the fatal crash and who should be held responsible.
«There are still many details we don’t know about the sequence of events leading up to the tragic accident, but by filing a lawsuit, we can begin the legal discovery process that allows us to get the answers Samantha’s family deserves,» Dalton said. he said she in a statement.