USA TODAY International Edition

Victim’s kin speaks of crash

- Josh Peter

The parents of the 23- year- old woman killed when NFL wide receiver Henry Ruggs III crashed into her car early Tuesday morning in Las Vegas are “destroyed,” the woman’s brother told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday.

“I almost can’t even look at them,” said Djordje Tintor, the older brother of Tina Tintor, who died in the fiery crash during which Ruggs was traveling 156 mph with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit. “Every time I look at them it just breaks my heart.”

Djordje Tinor, 25, said his family escaped war- torn Serbia in 2000 before moving to Las Vegas and that his parents were maintainin­g their privacy after the fatal accident.

“They’re not comfortabl­e with the attention and everything,” he said. “They just want to grieve in their way.”

Djordje Tintor also told USA TODAY Sports he was struggling to find the words to describe his emotions.

“It doesn’t feel real,” he said. “It’s like, what are the chances, you know?”

The Las Vegas Metro Police Department said it responded at approximat­ely 3: 39 a. m. to a vehicle collision between a Chevrolet Corvette driven by Ruggs, who was released by the Raiders after the accident, and a Toyota RAV- 4 driven by Tina Tintor. The Toyota was on fire and fire department personnel discovered Tintor inside the vehicle.

Her dog also died in the crash, and at the time of the crash they were driving home from a park, according to Djordje Tintor, who said his sister “always thought about everyone else before herself. No second thought, no nothing.”

Ruggs, 22, is facing up to 20 years in prison for DUI resulting in death, which under Nevada law is a Class B felony.

He is also facing a charge of reckless driving resulting in death or substantia­l bodily harm, which carries a sentence of one to six years.

Bail was set at $ 150,000 on Wednesday.

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