Former Raiders WR Henry Ruggs sentenced to at least 3 years in fatal DUI crash

LAS VEGAS — Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs was sentenced to at least three years in prison on Wednesday for his role in a DUI crash that killed a 23-year-old woman nearly two years ago

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Ruggs, 24, who was released by the team after the crash, pleaded guilty in May to a felony drunken driving charge resulting in death in the Nov. 2, 2021, death of Tina Tintor, 23, The New York Times reported. His sentence ranges between three and 10 years.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor vehicular homicide, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Ruggs was sentenced to six months in prison on the second charge by Judge Jennifer Schwartz, which will be served concurrently with the lengthier sentence, the newspaper reported.

Prosecutors dropped three original felony charges -- two counts of reckless driving and driving under the influence resulting in bodily harm -- and a misdemeanor charge of possessing a gun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the Times reported.

According to prosecutors, Ruggs was driving 156 mph in his sports car when he crashed into the sport utility vehicle driven by Tintor, KLAS-TV reported. Prosecutors said that Riggs’ blood alcohol content level was at 0.16; the state’s legal limit is 0.08, according to the television station.

The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray that Ruggs was driving at 3:40 a.m. PDT collided with Tintor’s vehicle, causing the woman’s vehicle to be consumed by flames, the Review-Journal reported. She was trapped in the vehicle with her dog, Max, police said.

The crash also injured Ruggs’ passenger, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, his fiancee and mother of their daughter, according to The Associated Press.

Speaking in court on Wednesday, Ruggs apologized to Tintor’s family, according to the newspaper. He said that his actions “are not a true reflection of me,” and that he had “no excuse” for the crash.

“Over the past 21 months, I’ve searched for a way to find the answers for my selfish behavior on that day,” Ruggs said in court. “I have no excuse and pray that accepting responsibility with my guilty plea can allow me to begin the healing process and allow everyone involved to heal also.”

According to KVVU-TV, a representative for Tintor’s mother read a prepared statement to the court, reflecting on the “tragic yet preventable way” that her daughter was killed and “taken away at the hands of another’s negligence.”

Ruggs was a first-round choice of the Raiders (20th overall) in the 2020 NFL draft, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. He caught 50 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns in his 20 games with the Raiders in 2020 and 2021.

He played collegiately at the University of Alabama from 2017 to 2019.