16-year-old charged with second-degree murder in death of Holly Springs teen

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A teenager is facing murder charges weeks after he allegedly drove into a 14-year-old riding his bike.

Ashton Rahlfs, 16, was indicted by a Wake County grand jury on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Max Dunham.

He’s also facing a felony death by vehicle charge and felony serious injury by vehicle. Holly Springs Police Chief Paul Liquorie said Wednesday night that Rahlfs was arrested late Wednesday afternoon.

The charges come two weeks after Rahlfs allegedly hit and killed Dunham around 1:40 a.m. on Oct. 26, on Avent Ferry Road near Holly Meadow Drive before he was involved in a head-on collision with a different car.

Dunham was a freshman at Holly Springs High School.

Police said that the investigation showed that Rahlfs had been driving carelessly and recklessly “for a significant time before the crash” and that he was going more than twice the 35 mph speed limit. Officers also discovered that there were alcoholic beverages in his car before the crash, the town said in a release Wednesday night.

Rahlfs already had been charged in this case with driving in violation of his driver’s permit restrictions, driving after consuming alcohol younger than 21 years old, and driving while impaired on the morning of the crash.

His roadside breath test indicated he had nearly twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system, and his intoximeter results taken later at the Law Enforcement Center showed a blood alcohol content of .11, police said. The legal limit is .08.

After striking Dunham, police said Rahlfs’ car crossed the center line and crashed into another vehicle. That driver, 19-year-old Brandon Russel, was pinned in his car and seriously injured. Russel has spent weeks in the hospital recovering.

Russel’s family said he is about ready to come home. They have built a wheelchair ramp for him at the family’s home.

Liquorie spoke at a news conference Wednesday night to announce the new charges.

“I would like to thank the public, and in particular the Dunham and Russel families, for their patience as we ensured that this case was thoroughly and accurately investigated,” Liquorie said. “I also would like to recognize the exhaustive efforts of the officers and investigators, and other first responders, who performed extraordinarily throughout this complex investigation.”