Ruggs sentended to 3-plus years in fatal DUI crash
Former Las Vegas Raiders player Henry Ruggs was sentenced Wednesday to at least three years in a Nevada prison for killing a woman in a fiery crash while driving his sports car drunk at speeds up to 156 mph on a city street nearly two years ago.
“I sincerely apologize,” the former firstround NFL draft pick said as he stood for sentencing in Las Vegas after pleading guilty in May to felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, a charge carrying a six-month jail sentence that will be folded in with his threeto-10-year prison term.
Ruggs, now 24, was cut by the Raiders while he was still hospitalized following the predawn crash on Nov. 2, 2021. The collision killed Tina Tintor and her dog, Max, and injured Ruggs' passenger, Kiara Je'nai Kilgo-Washington, his fiancee and mother of their daughter.
“I have no excuses,” Ruggs said, citing pain the case has caused his family, teammates and Tintor's family. Ruggs said that after prison, he intends to counsel others “about the dangers of driving at unsafe speed and driving and drinking.”
In a statement read in court by Tintor's cousin, David Strbac, Tintor's mother, Mirjana Komazec, offered grief, grace and memories of “what it was like to hug and embrace her, knowing we will never be able to kiss her on her forehead or tell her how much we love her and how absolutely proud of her we are.”
“We pray that Henry Ruggs is blessed with the opportunity to be able watch his beautiful daughter grow into the amazing woman she can be,” Komazec's statement said. “And we pray that this terrible accident inspires positive change in the world. We pray that we all take away the importance of looking out for one another, remembering everyone we meet is another human's loved one.”
Kilgo-Washington and a group of friends and supporters watched as Ruggs, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, was handcuffed by a court officer when Clark County District Court Judge Jennifer Schwartz read the sentence. Ruggs was then led away. Ruggs had remained free on house arrest since shortly after the crash.
His plea deal avoided a trial that Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said posed obstacles for conviction because Ruggs was not administered a field sobriety test following the crash and his defense attorneys argued that Ruggs' blood-alcohol test was improperly obtained at the hospital.
The blood test revealed that Ruggs had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16% — twice the legal limit in Nevada — after the rearend wreck ignited a fire in Tintor's Toyota Rav 4.
Kilgo-Washington also was injured in Ruggs' demolished 2020 Chevrolet Corvette. Prosecutors said Ruggs suffered a leg injury, and Kilgo-Washington received an arm injury. Kilgo-Washington was not cooperative with prosecutors as a victim in the case.
Wolfson had said Ruggs would face a mandatory minimum of two years in prison if convicted and could get more than 50 years. The district attorney said investigators learned that Ruggs spent several hours drinking with friends at a sports entertainment site and golfing venue, and may have been at a friend's home for several more hours before he and Kilgo-Washington headed home.
BILLS STADIUM COST OVERRUNS NEARING $300M >> Three months since construction began on their new stadium, the Buffalo Bills are already facing a potential cash crunch with the latest projections having the team on the hook for as much as $300 million in cost overruns, four people with direct knowledge or who were briefed on the financial details told The Associated Press this week.
What was initially estimated to cost $1.4 billion in March 2022, and increased to $1.54 billion months later, is now projected to have jumped to $1.65 billion and approaching $1.7 billion, the people told the AP on the condition of anonymity because the team has not disclosed those figures.
The rising price tag is notable because the Bills are contractually required to cover any overruns beyond the thenagreed to cost of $1.4 billion as part of the tentative deal the team reached with the state and Erie County 16 months ago.