Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III pleaded guilty Wednesday to a drunk driving crash that resulted in the death of Tina Tintor and her dog in November 2021.
Ruggs, 24, appeared in the Clark County District Court where he pleaded guilty to one count of a DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, ESPN reported. Ruggs is scheduled to be sentenced on August 9 and faces three to ten years in prison.
“Today, like every day, we remember Tina and Max, and how they were taken from us that fateful night,” the Tintor family said in a statement issued by their attorneys. “No sentence will ever bring Tina and Max back, but we hope that everyone learns from this preventable incident so that no other families suffer like we do.”
Ruggs, a first-round draft pick in 2020, reached 156 mph in his Corvette Stingray before plowing into Tintor’s Toyota RAV4, propelling Tintor’s vehicle 571 feet, according to police. Ruggs’ girlfriend was also injured in the crash. Two hours after the fatal crash, a blood draw revealed that Ruggs’ blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit in Nevada at 0.161.
District Attorney Steven Wolfson said that the DUI charge was “the most serious charge the law allows” when a person is killed by a drunk driver. The DUI resulting in death charge was based on the result of the blood draw, which Ruggs’ lawyers challenged.
“I recognize this outcome is not sufficient to punish Ruggs for the loss the Tintor family has suffered,” a statement from Wolfson said, “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. This resolution sends Ruggs to prison for up to 10 years on a felony DUI conviction and brings closure to the Tintor family.”
The day after the crash, Ruggs was released from prison on a $150,000 bond and cut by the Raiders. He has been confined to his home ever since, only being allowed to leave his house to work out twice a week. Ruggs will remain under house arrest until his sentencing.
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The former receiver was a standout at the University of Alabama before being drafted 12th overall by Las Vegas in 2020. At the time of the fatal crash, Ruggs was leading the Raiders in receiving yards.