‘Drunk driver’ Jamie Komoroski’s mom involved in 2013 crash that killed firefighter
The mother of an alleged drunk driver charged with killing a South Carolina bride in a tragic crash last month was also involved in a fatal accident — that left a firefighter dead 10 years ago, it was revealed on Tuesday.
Traci Komoroski, 62, the mother of Jamie Komoroski, struck Forest Fire Service Warden Jeffrey Scheuerer during a fierce blaze in Clinton Township, New Jersey on March 28, 2013, the Hunterdon County Democrat reported.
Scheuerer had been battling a fire and the firetruck was partially blocking the northbound lane while flashing the emergency lights at the time of the crash, officials said.
Traci Komoroski’s daughter Jamie, 25, was arrested on April 28 after she rear-ended a golf cart carrying Samantha Miller, 34, and her husband Aric Hutchinson just after their Folly Beach wedding reception.
Miller died at the scene. Hutchinson and two others were severely injured.
Jamie Komoroski – who was later found to have been driving at over three times the legal blood-alcohol limit – has been detained in Charleston County on multiple charges.
The crash involving her mother, however, was deemed a “tragic accident” and no charges were filed.
Within days of the 2013 accident, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns attributed Scheuerer’s death to a “sudden” wind shift that caused smoke from a controlled burn site to obscure the firetruck and emergency lights.
Scheuerer, 35, was a six-year veteran of the Fire Service and a 21-year veteran of the Readington Township Volunteer Fire Company.
He was operating a hose on Lebanon-Stanton Road in 2013 when he was narrowly missed by one driver, only to be immediately struck by Traci Komoroski’s 2010 Jeep Liberty, the Democrat said.
None of the drivers reported injuries and no tickets were issued at the scene.
“This was a tragic accident and our deepest sympathies go out to Mr. Scheuerer’s family, the Readington Volunteer Fire Company; as well as Mr. Scheuerer’s colleagues in the New Jersey Forest Fire Service,” the prosecutor’s office stated at the time.
Speaking to The Post on Tuesday, however, Scheuerer’s brother David said his family was frustrated that Traci did not face charges after the incident.
“When I went to the Clinton Township Police Department to pick up Jeff’s personal effects, they told me not to worry about Traci, she would be dealt with and proper actions would come from it…[but there’s been] no actions except silence,” he lamented.
In a bond motion filed this week, Jamie Komoroski’s attorneys Chris Gramiccioni and Nathan S. Williams requested that South Carolina officials allow the former waitress to be released on bond into a rehabilitation program for substance abuse, and then into the care of her mother.
The attorneys describe Traci Komoroski in the filing as an elementary school paraprofessional based in Ocean County, NJ. They do not mention her role in Scheuerer’s death.
When reached by The Post on Tuesday, Gramiccioni and Williams said they were “not commenting” on the matter.
Traci Komoroski didn’t not respond to multiple messages.
Meanwhile, Scheuerer’s loved ones recently marked the 10-year anniversary of his death with a rededication ceremony at the Jeffrey Scheuerer Memorial Site on the Round Valley Reservoir in Lebanon.
“A lot has changed over the last 10 years but you will forever remain in our hearts. Today we honor your memory,” a site administrator posted on the memorial’s official Facebook page.
Scheuerer’s mother, Barbara, died in 2016. His father, Tom, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
