CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A family is in mourning after a Charlotte woman was killed by a suspected drunk driver just hours after getting married.
Samantha Miller died and her new husband, Aric, was seriously hurt when a woman crashed into their golf cart in Folly Beach on their wedding night.
"I've never seen my sister look so beautiful and so happy," Mandi Jenkins, Samantha Miller's sister, told WCBD-TV in Charleston.
Police said the newlyweds were leaving their reception in a golf cart last Friday when they were hit by a suspected drunk driver. The suspect, 25-year-old Jamie Lee Komoroski, is facing multiple charges including DUI involving death and reckless homicide.
Jenkins said the couple left the reception a little before 10 p.m. to go back to their Airbnb. Two other family members were on the cart with them.
"And the sirens started. And the sirens kept going and the sirens didn't stop," Jenkins said. "My mom said, 'Something happened to Sam,' not knowing anything."
Her bad feeling proved to be correct. The couple's golf cart was rear-ended by a vehicle going 65 mph, the family said. Once they were alerted to what happened, Jenkins and her mother rushed to the scene.
"My mom and I ran holding hands," she said. "No shoes, no bra, no nothing, just screaming, 'Sammy!'"
Investigators said the cart was thrown over 100 yards and flipped several times after impact. Samantha died from her injuries. Aric was critically injured and faces a long road to recovery from multiple broken bones and a brain injury.
A GoFundMe page started for the family has raised over $400,000.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Editor's note: A previous version of this story referred to the bride as Samantha Hutchinson. Her family has asked us to use Miller since her last night had not been changed before the accident.
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