Chapel Hill bar accused of selling alcohol to underage Fort Bragg soldier before deadly Harnett County crash: ALE

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — Four employees at a bar in Chapel Hill are facing charges in connection with a deadly crash in Harnett County that killed three people last week, the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division said Wednesday. The crash on Feb. 14 took the lives of two paratroopers stationed at Fort Bragg, 22-year-old Spc. Romeo Mason Fleck of Harrisburg, Pa. and 21-year-old Spc. Charles Arthur Jackson of Efland, and the life of 28-year-old William Tyler Underwood of Stanford. Another Fort Bragg soldier, Pfc. Aydrian Larusch, was seriously hurt, according to officials. According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, a 2022 Toyota Camry driven by Fleck and occupied by Jackson and Larusch was traveling south on N.C. 87 when it crossed the center line and crashed head-on with a southbound 2015 Chevrolet Z-71 driven by Underwood at around 3:30 a.m. ALE agents said they began an investigation into the crash after they were notified by the NCSHP that alcohol was believed to be a factor. The investigation determined Fleck, Jackson, and Larusch were served alcoholic drinks at Still Life on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, despite Larusch being underage, according to ALE. Court records show Anthony Tamron Wise III, 24, of Fort Bragg is accused of providing Larusch and another underage customer not connected to the crash with wristbands indicating they were at least 21. He is charged with two counts of aiding an underage purchase of alcohol. Two more employees, 35-year-old Cameron Michael Renna of Morrisville and 21-year-old Bonnie Zhang of Asheville, are charged with two counts selling a mixed beverage to a person under 21 and one count of Alcoholic Beverage Control law violation, according to court records. According to court records, 47-year-old Sharif Abuhatoum of Greenville, who holds Still Life's ABC permit, is charged with failing to supervise the bar. Court records show all four suspects were given a criminal summons from ALE on Wednesday. Agents said they will send their report to the ABC Commission, which will determine if administrative action is appropriate. The commission may fine, suspend, or revoke Still Life's ABC permits. Larusch remains hospitalized as of Feb. 25, according to ALE. Still Life was previously accused of selling alcohol to underage customers in January 2024 in connection with a crash that killed a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.