Austin family waited hours for police response after crash with suspected drunken driver
Lacey and Dustin Purciful and their attorney Adam Loewy discussed how the understaffed Austin Police Department resulted in an hours-long response to a crash.
Lawyers for accused drunken driver Jamie Lee Komoroski, who police say killed bride Samantha Miller and seriously injured groom Aric Hutchinson on their wedding night, urged the public not to "rush to judgment."
Komoroski, 25, hired Nathan S. Williams and Christopher S. Gramiccioni last week to defend her in her criminal case for allegedly crashing her red Toyota Camry into the couple's golf cart minutes after they left their reception in South Carolina, court records show.
Both high-profile attorneys are former federal prosecutors. Gramiccioni worked for nearly a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Newark, New Jersey, in the public corruption and terrorism units.
Williams famously prosecuted Charleston church school shooter Dylann Roof in his death penalty case. He founded his own boutique practice in Mount Pleasant after 23 years of public service.
ALLEGED DRUNKEN DRIVER CHARGED WITH KILLING BRIDE HAD DRESSED AS ‘BUD LIGHTYEAR’ FOR HALLOWEEN
Jamie Lee Komoroski is charged with killing bride Sam Miller and seriously injuring groom Aric Hutchinson on the couple's wedding night when she slammed her car into their golf cart. The couple is shown leaving their South Carolina wedding reception under a canopy of sparklers minutes before the collision. (Charleston County Sheriff's Office/GoFundMe)
"We cannot fathom what the families are going through and offer our deepest sympathies," the attorneys told Fox News Digital. "We simply ask that there not be a rush to judgment. Our court system is founded upon principles of justice and mercy, and that is where all facts will come to light."
Komoroski is accused of plowing her sedan into the back of a golf cart carrying Miller, Hutchinson and two family members in Folly Beach, South Carolina.
Komoroski was allegedly driving 65 mph, more than double the posted speed limit, when she rear-ended the golf cart, which was thrown more than 100 yards and rolled several times.
Aric Hutchinson and Samantha Miller on their wedding night (left) and posing together (right). (Facebook)
Miller, who was still in her wedding dress, was killed instantly, according to her sister.
Police asked Komoroski to perform a field sobriety test, but "she strongly refused and became uncooperative on the scene," an affidavit says.
Officers noted that Komoroski "was very unsteady on her feet and almost fell down." They asked her to rate her level of impairment on a scale of one, as the lowest, to 10, and she replied that she was an eight.
Jamie Komoroski, left, in a photo posted to Instagram one week before she allegedly killed newlyweds Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson. On the right, Komoroski is pictured drinking wine with her friends. (Instagram)
She was arrested on three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury and/or death and one count of reckless homicide, court records show. She is being held without bond.
Komoroski, who hails from New Jersey, was living in Charleston and had recently been hired as a server at the Mexican restaurant Taco Boy in Folly Beach's business district, the Post & Courier reported.
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A GoFundMe account has raised nearly $700,000 for groom Aric Hutchinson's medical bills and his slain wife's funeral costs.
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