Nearly $1,000 spent on alcohol on night of deadly UNC crash, new documents unveil details
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — A new report sheds light on the hours leading up to and just after a deadly crash involving UNC football players.
UNC Sophomore Molly Rotunda died in the January 21 crash. Ten people now face charges in connection to her death and that crash.
The report is over 100 pages long and is comprised of details collected by Alcohol Law Enforcement investigators, through interviews, surveillance video, and receipts.
It was a 20th birthday celebration for UNC football player Zachary Rice that turned deadly.
The North Carolina ABC Commission and ALE have now revealed the timeline of events leading up to and after that fatal crash.
Receipts show UNC football player Travis Shaw paid $910 for tequila for himself, Rice, and a group of friends. Investigators said they were at two bars, Still Life and Might as Well.
The new report even details the timeframe in which the group took shots, noting that Rice took at least five within an hour.
The group then left the bar in different groups.
The documents indicate Rice, Shaw, and another UNC football player, Malaki Hamrick, were in one car. Rotunda was a passenger in a black Mercedes, driven by UNC Student Flemeeja Brewer.
Rice and Hamrick were among many who sat through interviews with investigators.
The report shows Hamrick told officers the two cars were side by side on the highway, adding that Brewer’s lane was ending, so Rice slowed down to let her in. Rice added that her car kept going and went in the air.
Investigators said Hamrick called 911. They said Rice and Hamrick found Rotunda in the back of the car and pulled her out adding they left the scene after she was taken away by an ambulance, because “it was too much.”
Rotunda died from her injuries.
Pictures in the report show the speedometer in Brewer’s car was stuck at over 100 mph.
During the interview, officers said they learned Rotunda texted Rice asking for a ride. He said he never saw the message.
The report noted, “Rice appeared upset…and may have even felt some form of guilt over Rotunda’s death, by missing the text message.”
One investigator added, “I sat down next to Rice and briefly tried to console him.”
Rice also told investigators, “he did not think anybody was too drunk and he would have stopped people if he thought they were.”
Rice is charged with underage drinking and driving.
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Shaw is charged with aiding and abetting underage drinking and underage drinking.
Hamrick was last in court in March when he pled guilty to underage drinking.
He is now on probation and will have to do community service and undergo a substance abuse assessment and treatment.
Others charged in this case are expected in court again later this month.
The report also revealed investigators informed the managers of Still Life and Might as Well that they would be submitting violation reports to the ABC Commission.
Documents show the manager of Still Life, Sharif Houtar, “became hostile and began yelling that he provided the video, and he did not sell to an underage.”
Investigators reported that Houtar also said, “The ALE has a pattern of making up violations against his business.”
The ABC Commission has not yet announced any consequences for the two bars that they said facilitated underage drinking.
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