4 employees at downtown Chapel Hill bar charged after deadly crash in Harnett County
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- ALE charged four Still Life employees after underage sale linked to Toyota Camry crash.
- Investigation found three patrons served, all later rode in the Camry; one was underage.
- NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission may recommend Still Life permits be revoked.
Four employees at a downtown Chapel Hill bar have been charged after three people served alcohol there were involved in a fatal crash, the N.C. Department of Public Safety announced Wednesday.
The N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement Division (ALE) began investigating the crash Feb. 14, the Department of Public Safety said. The investigation found three people, including one who was underage, were served alcohol at Still Life on East Franklin Street.
The three later got into a Toyota Camry and were driving in Harnett County when the car crossed the center line and crashed into another vehicle, the Department of Public Safety said.
The three people in the Camry were soldiers based at Fort Bragg, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner. 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.
ALE’s investigation found one of the Camry’s occupants was underage, the Department of Public Safety said. ALE agents charged four Still Life employees in connection with the crash. All of the offenses are misdemeanors.
- Sharif Abuhatoum, 47, of Greenville. Abuhatoum is charged with a failure to superintend an ABC licensed establishment.
- Cameron Michael Renna, 35, of Morrisville. Renna is charged with two counts of selling a mixed beverage to a person under 21 and one count of furnishing alcoholic beverages in violation of North Carolina general statutes.
- Anthony Tamron Wise III, 24, of Fort Bragg. Wise is charged with two counts of aiding and abetting the purchase of alcoholic beverages of a person under 21.
- Bonnie Zhang, 21, of Asheville. Zhang is charged with two counts of misdemeanor selling a mixed beverage to a person under 21.
ALE previously investigated Still Life in 2024, when UNC student Mary Elizabeth Rotunda was killed in a car crash, The News & Observer previously reported. Four Still Life employees were charged with serving alcohol to an underage person or aiding and abetting underage alcohol consumption.
All employees had their charges dismissed — except for Cameren Spencer, who pleaded guilty in November to underage possession or consumption of alcohol and received a prayer for judgment, The N&O reported.
“ALE will forward its investigative report to the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission for review,” the Department of Public Safety said. “Following its review, the Commission will determine whether administrative action is appropriate, which may include a fine, suspension, or revocation of the business’s ABC permits.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2026 at 4:58 PM.
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