Henry Ruggs III, a former receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will plead guilty to two charges in connection to a fatal 2021 car crash. The charges include one count of DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. The accident caused the death of Tina Tintor, 23, and her dog. The plea agreement presented in Las Vegas justice court on Tuesday stipulates that Ruggs will serve three to 10 years in Nevada state prison. He is expected to formally plead guilty at a hearing on May 10th.
Reports indicate that Ruggs was driving drunk and at a speed of 156 mph in Las Vegas when his Corvette Stingray crashed into Tintor’s Toyota RAV4 in the early morning hours of November 2nd, 2021. The collision caused Tintor’s vehicle to travel 571 feet and catch fire. Tintor and her dog died of burns, as confirmed by a coroner’s report released in December of the same year.
Authorities offered that Ruggs refused a sobriety test, but a blood draw taken approximately two hours after the event revealed that his blood-alcohol level was 0.161. This measure is more than twice the legal limit in Nevada. At the time, Ruggs was traveling with his girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, who was also injured in the crash.
Following the episode, Ruggs was released on a $150,000 bond, and for the past year and a half has been under house arrest wearing an alcohol and location monitoring device.
The Raiders promptly removed Ruggs from the team. A first-round draft pick from Alabama in 2020, Ruggs’ future with the Raiders looked promising.
The case, which had six delays since the preliminary hearing, is expected to move to the 8th Judicial District Court for the May 10th hearing, where Ruggs will formally plead guilty. He could serve a minimum of two years and a maximum of 50 years in prison.
