Search Warrants Reveal Alcohol Cans, Phone Video in Deadly Holly Springs Crash

Search warrants unsealed in mid-February detail alcohol cans, device video and liquor seized after the Oct. 26 crash on Avent Ferry Road near Holly Meadow Drive that killed 14-year-old bicyclist Max Dunham. The warrants say investigators recovered a crushed Twisted Tea can at the immediate crash site and seven more Twisted Tea cans in the adjacent woodline, for a total of eight cans found at or near the scene.

Court filings and device downloads reviewed by investigators include a short phone video showing a Twisted Tea can in the SUV's center cup holder minutes before the collision. One warrant description places that clip roughly eight to 10 minutes before the wreck; another describes the clip as 10 to 15 minutes before the crash. Warrants for an iPad and phone also list photos and videos of Twisted Tea boxes, a "Twisted Tea Party pouch" and a trash bag of empty Twisted Tea cans taken from the devices.

Police allege 16-year-old Ashton Rahlfs, a 10th grader at Holly Springs High School, was driving while impaired and at more than twice the posted speed limit when his SUV crossed the center line, struck Dunham and then hit a Honda Civic occupied by 19-year-old Brandon Russell. The warrants say officers documented a crash scene stretching more than 200 feet. Max Dunham died as a result of the collision; Brandon Russell was critically injured and hospitalized.

Officers at the scene reported smelling alcohol on Rahlfs and observing red, glassy eyes when they interacted with him, and the unsealed documents quote Rahlfs as saying he did not remember the collision and that the bike "appeared out of nowhere." A second intoximeter test at the law-enforcement center measured Rahlfs' blood-alcohol content at 0.11, according to the warrant returns.

Investigators executed a search of Rahlfs' SUV and of the family home on Meadow Fox Road on Nov. 13, 2025, court filings show. That search returned two 18‑pack boxes of Twisted Tea, a 12‑pack with empty cans, a full bottle of tequila and two empty tequila bottles, a half‑empty bottle of cognac, empty bottles of whiskey and vodka, beer cans, a trash bag with empty Twisted Tea cans, and photos and videos from the iPad. Warrants also list marijuana items and a bong, including four small marijuana roaches recovered during the search.

Rahlfs has been charged with multiple counts including second-degree murder, death by motor vehicle (also described in filings as felony death by vehicle), felony serious injury by vehicle, driving while impaired and driving after consuming alcohol under 21, among other counts. He remains jailed without bond as Wake County prosecutors continue the case.

Holly Springs Police Chief Paul Liquorie said investigators do not believe Rahlfs' older brother provided alcohol in this incident and that the department is still in discussions with the District Attorney's Office while completing the investigation. The newly unsealed warrants and device downloads now form part of the evidence prosecutors have as they prepare next steps in the case.