Chapel Hill bar workers face charges over deadly Harnett County crash
SANFORD, N.C. (WTVD) -- Charges have been filed in connection with a fatal crash that killed two Fort Bragg soldiers and another driver in Harnett County.
A third soldier survived the crash.
Earlier this month, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol notified the Alcohol Law Enforcement Division (ALE) that alcohol was believed to be a contributing factor in the deadly crash.
Investigators said a Toyota Camry crossed the center line and hit a pickup in the 4600 block of NC Highway 87 near Sanford.
Three soldiers were in the Toyota. Two of them, the driver, Spc. Romeo Mason Fleck, 22, and a backseat passenger, Spc. Charles Jackson, 21, were killed. A third, Aydrian Larusch, was critically injured.
The driver of the second vehicle, William Underwood, of Sanford, also died.
During the investigation, ALE agents determined the people in the Camry were served alcoholic beverages at Still Life, a bar and nightclub at 159 East Franklin St., Suite 200 in Chapel Hill.
The investigation revealed that one of the people served was underage.
Four from the bar are now charged with misdemeanors.
Sharif Abuhatoum, 47, of Greenville, who held the ABC permit -- the responsible party for the location -- was charged with failure to superintend an ABC-licensed establishment.
Three bar workers were also charged: Cameron Michael Renna, 35, of Morrisville, who was charged with two counts of selling a mixed beverage to a person under 21 and furnishing alcoholic beverages in violation of NC general statutes; Anthony Tameron Wise III, 24, of Fort Bragg, who was charged with two counts of aid/abet the purchase of alcoholic beverages of a person under 21, and Bonnie Zhange, 21, of Asheville, who faces two counts of selling a mixed beverage to a person under 21.
ALE also investigated Still Life in January 2024.
That's when UNC-Chapel Hill student Molly Rotunda was killed in a crash.
She was in a car driven by a fellow UNC student who allegedly bought alcohol underage at that Franklin Street bar.
ABC11 has reached out to Still Life for comment on these latest charges.
Wednesday night on Franklin Street, ABC11 spoke with many people who have been to the nightclub and said the establishment is pretty strict when it comes to underage drinking.
"It's like really interesting for me to hear that there were underage people at Still Life," one young woman said.
Another woman, who did not want to be shown or identified, added: "I knew that I couldn't go up to the bar and get alcohol if I asked because obviously, I was under 21. So I'm very surprised to hear that it seemed like they ran a very tight ship and that they weren't going to serve anybody under 21 alcohol."
People who partied at the nightclub showed ABC11 a photo that shows a black mark on their hand to indicate they were too young to drink.
"The bouncer checked your I.D. right before we went upstairs. And you went upstairs," one patron said. "And then they checked your I.D. again when you got upstairs, and they gave you, like, a little scribble on your hand with a black Sharpie if you were under 21, to indicate that you can't be served alcohol at the bar."
ALE will forward its investigative report to the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission for review. Following its review, the Commission will determine whether further action is needed, which could include a fine, suspension, or revocation of the business's ABC permits.
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