Deadly UNC crash: 20-year-old driver admitted to drinking before crash that killed classmate, docs say

A search warrant for the 2014 Mercedes Benz E350 driven by another UNC student, Flemeeja Brewer, 20, who is charged in the death of her classmate, reveals the car was registered to Brewer's father.

According to documents, the car driven by Brewer went off the road and struck a concrete culvert, which caused it to overturn at the intersection of Raleigh Road and East Barbee Chapel Road.

Officers who responded to the Jan. 21 crash found the Mercedes "overturned in the grass," according to the warrant that revealed Rotunda was riding in the backseat.

An investigative report from the Office of the State Medical Examiner said Rotunda “was pulled from the backseat of the car by the bystanders who were traveling behind the vehicle before it crashed.”

Rotunda went into cardiac arrest while in an ambulance and was pronounced dead a short time later.

Documents indicated Brewer, who survived the crash and faces multiple felony charges, admitted to driving the car and drinking a "Lemon Drop" cocktail at the bar Still Life before the deadly crash. The ladies were at the bar between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., the warrant said.

A search warrant for Brewer's medical records from UNC Hospital said her blood alcohol content was 0.15 (the state's legal limit is 0.08) at the time of the crash.

A second passenger, Brianna Tiera Pinson, 21, of Greensboro, faces two counts of aiding and abetting consumption of alcohol by a person younger than 21. Both Brewer and Pinson suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash.

A crash report said Brewer was driving as fast as 124 miles per hour and her car was being closely followed, according to court documents, by a car driven by UNC football player Zach Rice.

It’s not clear if Rice was among those who pulled Rotunda from the car after it crashed and flipped over.

Rice, 20, of Virginia, was charged with driving after consuming while younger than 21, consuming/possession of alcohol younger than 21 and exceeding a posted speed limit.

The search warrant stated an officer at the scene found a fake driver's license from Texas with Brewer's name and a different birth date. Officers also found a red and black drawstring bag on the roadway near crash with a half-full bottle of Crown Royal whiskey inside, the document stated.

Also, police found keys in the ignition of the car.

WRAL News previously learned that racing may have been a factor in the crash, which is further supported by the documents.