Megan Turner
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Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III made his initial court appearance Wednesday, a day after Las Vegas police accused him of driving impaired and causing a fiery crash that killed a woman.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that during his initial appearance, the district attorney said Ruggs was traveling at 156 mph about two seconds before the crash and that he was traveling 127 mph when airbags deployed.
(Photo by Steve Marcus-Pool/Getty Images)
Prosecutors requested a $1 million bail, but the judge ultimately ordered a $150,000 bail for Ruggs and the highest level of electronic monitoring if he is released.
The district attorney said Ruggs’ blood alcohol level was 0.16, twice the legal limit for drivers in Nevada, and a loaded gun was found in the car, the newspaper reports.
“This is a very tragic and sad day in this community,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told reporters after the hearing, the newspaper reports. “A woman lost her life. Another person perhaps lost his career, perhaps [is] going to prison. This was a very, very ugly day, yesterday morning.”
The 22-year-old was booked Tuesday afternoon at the Clark County Detention Center and will face charges of DUI resulting in death and reckless driving, OutKick previously reported.
Ruggs may face additional charges related to the gun found in his car and injuries suffered by his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, the district attorney said. Prosecutors had not formally charged Ruggs as of Wednesday morning.
Police said Ruggs was speeding while driving a 2020 Chevrolet Corvette in the early morning hours on Tuesday. His girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, also known as Rudy Washington, was a passenger in the car.
Police said Ruggs suddenly changed directions into the right lane and slammed into the back of a 2013 Rav4 — causing both cars to roll — and the Toyota burst into flames, trapping the driver inside.
The 23-year-old driver, and her dog, died at the scene, prosecutors said. A police report released on Wednesday identified the Las Vegas woman as Tina O. Tintor.
Both Ruggs and his girlfriend were taken to University Medical Center with “serious” injuries. The district attorney said he was told that Ruggs had suffered leg injuries and that Washington had suffered a wrist injury, the newspaper reports. Ruggs was later charged with DUI Resulting in Substantial Bodily Harm and reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm — both felony charges.
Ruggs’ attorneys told reporters outside the courtroom they are conducting their own investigation into the crash, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“We are going to adjudicate in the courtroom,” David Chesnoff, one of Ruggs’ defense attorneys, said. “We are not going to adjudicate it in the street.”
The Raiders posted on social media they released Ruggs from the team Tuesday evening.
Ruggs, a first-round pick out of Alabama in the 2020 Draft, had 469 reception yards and two touchdowns through seven games for the Raiders before they released him.
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Follow Meg Turner on Twitter @Megnturner_ and Instagram @Megnturner.
You know, in retrospect, maybe Las Vegas isn’t the best place for a bunch of newly fabulously wealthy 22 and 23 year olds to live with the prefrontal cortex plan for future consequences part of their brain still a few years away from being fully formed and functional. Not that people can’t get drunk and drive elsewhere in the country, but it’s probably easier there.
Shame, too, because there’s two types of drunk driver – the kind that go slow and the kind that go real fast. If he was the other type he’d have maybe have gotten a chance to learn the lesson he’ll be used to teach to others instead of ruining his life and ending another.
That’s a pretty good analysis. Much respect.
I had good friend I lost to cancer a few years ago.. he understood drunk driving more than anyone. he had 3 rules:
1) turn on your headlights
2) exaggerate every traffic law — i.e. sit for 5 seconds at a stop sign, wear a seatbelt use blinkers, etc…
3) never go over 35MPH.
#3 was important for 2 reasons, #1, you cant hurt anyone to that speed, and #2 you can correct mistakes before they become mistakes…