Weddings are supposed to be the most perfect and best day of one’s life. Unfortunately,  for one couple in South Carolina, their wedding ended in a tragedy. 

With a BAC (blood alcohol content) of 0.261% - exceeding the prohibited content of 0.08% in Southern Carolina - Jamie Lee Komoroski was clearly intoxicated while driving and unsurprisingly got into a car accident. Driving 65 miles per hour, Komoroski crashed into a golf cart carrying the just-married couple, Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson. This horrible tragedy took Miller’s life and led Hutchinson to suffer from a brain injury. 

Despite the clear indications and proof of her crime, Komoroski denied exceeding the large alcohol intake and refused the field sobriety test. When being tried to be taken to the police station, Komoroski further resisted and questioned why she was being arrested. Even while at the police station, Komoroski declined any breath samples. In the end, investigators obtained evidence of Komoroski’s crime which she is scheduled for trial in June; meanwhile, Komoroski is being held at Charleston County jail.

Indeed, Komoroski was held accountable, but the damage she caused is irreparable. Although the outcomes of this case were not completely fortunate or lucky, there was at least some kind of justice achieved. Numerous amounts of victims around the world suffer similar, if not worse tragedies. Yet, the perpetrator had gotten away with no punishment whatsoever for their clear crime. 

Who is to blame in this situation? How can the injured and suffered receive the justice that they were guaranteed by law enforcement? When asked these questions, a Sunny Hills High School sophomore - Jennie Jeong - explains that “it’s unfair and messed up” because there are specific laws to avoid these cases. Jennie added that “officials should be harsher and examine the evidence so there can’t be any denial.” This is especially true because there have been many previous instances where the laws couldn’t protect the innocent and the guilty was set free. Correspondingly, Kaylyn Kim - a Sunny Hills High School junior - felt “like it is so unfair but [she doubts] that there’s a way to counteract these types of incidents. It is extremely heartbreaking and unfortunate.” Although unequal and unfair, citizens cannot make a valid change unless we collectively come as a group. 

There have been many instances in history where a revolutionary change has occurred because of the community voices and that can occur again!