Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III is seen in a mugshot, inset, against the fiery auto crash authorities say his drunk driving caused in November 2021 (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Body-worn camera footage shows the deadly aftermath of former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III’s high-speed DUI crash that killed a young woman and her dog in November 2021.
In the footage, the victim’s car can be seen wholly ablaze.
“The car is completely on fire,” a police officer can be heard saying.
The onetime NFL and college football star – once known and heralded for his unmatched speed on the grass and turf – admitted to driving drunk at 156 mph in the Sin City and rear-ending 23-year-old Tina Tintor. The fiery crash killed her and her golden retriever Max nearly two years ago.
On May 10, Ruggs pleaded guilty to DUI resulting in death, which according to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, was the “most serious charge he faced” under Silver State law. He also pleaded guilty to one charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
In the footage, responding officers discuss the grim scene before them, remarking pointedly on the canine passenger in the car.
“Apparently, it’s going to be one person and a dog,” one officer says.
“A dog?” a second officer says, audibly surprised.
“Yeah,” the first officer replies. “The dog’s going to be in the rear, and the [woman] is going to be in the front. That’s sad. God, dude.”
After her death, a law firm for Tintor’s family said she was driving home from the dog park.
“Tina was the love of her parent’s lives and also an adored granddaughter, sister, and niece in a very tight-knit family. As a fellow Las Vegan, her absence is felt immensely by the Las Vegas community,” the statement from Naqvi Injury Laws reads. “Ruggs ended the life of a beautiful, thriving young woman and caused an immeasurable amount of grief, pain, and sorrow for the Tintor family. This type of pain is only felt when an innocent loved one is unexpectedly taken in such a horrific way.”
After the crash, the defendant’s blood alcohol level registered at .161, over two times Nevada’s legal limit. Ruggs’ girlfriend, Kiara “Rudy” Kilgo-Washington, was severely injured in the crash. In his mugshot, Ruggs was photographed wearing a neck brace.
Under his plea agreement, Ruggs could serve anywhere from three to 10 years in prison and is not eligible for probation. The defendant also forfeited any right to appeal his sentence.
Prosecutors defended the plea deal by suggesting that they would have potentially had a hard time making their case in court – because there was a “strong likelihood” that the only piece of evidence attesting to the defendant’s extremely-intoxicated state that night, a blood draw would have been suppressed during trial.
“I recognize this outcome is not sufficient to punish Ruggs for the loss the Tintor family has suffered, but there was a legitimate concern that a court would have suppressed the result of the blood draw. We would have lost the felony DUI charge. We couldn’t take that chance,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said in a statement. “This resolution sends Ruggs to prison for up to 10 years on a felony DUI conviction and brings closure to the Tintor family.”
The disgraced wide receiver was filmed partying hours before getting behind the wheel of his Corvette and taking Tintor’s life.
The tragic crash occurred less than halfway through Ruggs’ second season in the NFL. The Raiders, 5-2 at the time, released Ruggs from their roster less than 24 hours after the incident.
A mural near the crash site remembers Tintor and Max. The two are depicted side by side.
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