Henry Ruggs III sentenced to 3-10 years in prison after fatal 2021 crash

Former Las Vegas Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III was sentenced Wednesday to three to 10 years in prison for his role in the 2021 crash in Las Vegas that killed a 23-year-old woman and her dog. Ruggs could be eligible for parole in three years.

Ruggs in May pleaded guilty to a felony charge of DUI resulting in death and a misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter, per a plea agreement negotiated between prosecutors and his defense team. The 24-year-old agreed to serve up to 10 years in prison. Clark County District Court Judge Jennifer Schwartz’s sentencing aligns with the terms of that agreement.

The 2020 first-round draft pick had been on house arrest since he was released on $150,000 bond the day after the crash, which occurred Nov. 2, 2021.

Police said Ruggs, then 22, was driving his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray up to 156 mph on a residential street when he crashed into the back of a Toyota RAV4 driven by Tina Tintor, propelling Tintor’s car 571 feet and setting it on fire. A coroner ruled Tintor and her dog burned to death. Ruggs had been drinking in the hours before the crash, and police said his blood alcohol level was 0.16, twice the legal limit for drivers in Nevada. (Ruggs refused to take a field sobriety test immediately after the crash, and his BAC was determined after blood was drawn about two hours later.)

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Ruggs’s girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, was in the car with him during the collision and suffered a broken arm, according to a police report.

Police had also found a loaded firearm in Ruggs’s vehicle, leading to a misdemeanor charge of possessing a weapon while under the influence, which was dropped under the plea agreement.

Ruggs initially was charged with four felonies and a misdemeanor, but his criminal case moved slowly, with a preliminary hearing postponed numerous times. The Metropolitan Police Department did not produce a final report on the crash until September, and Ruggs’s defense team filed numerous motions to obtain evidence from police and the Clark County Fire Department in an attempt to prove firefighters failed to quickly extinguish the fire in Tintor’s vehicle.

Tintor’s family released a statement about the case in May, after Ruggs admitted his guilt.

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“Today, like every day, we remember Tina and [her dog] Max and how they were taken from us that fateful night,” the statement read. “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. We appreciate the efforts of the district attorney’s office to overcome the issues caused by the initial investigation, and we look forward to putting this behind us so that we can focus on honoring the memories of Tina and Max.”

Ruggs had not spoken publicly about the case, but in a statement he read at his sentencing, he said, “To the parents and family of Ms. Tintor, I sincerely apologize for the pain and suffering.”

A standout at Alabama, Ruggs played 20 games with the Raiders before they released him the day of the crash.

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