RAIDERS Quarterback Derek Carr has vowed to ‘always be there’ for Henry Ruggs, and revealed that his former teammate texted him before the deadly crash.
“He needs people to love him right now,” said Carr. “He’s probably feeling a certain type of way about himself right now. He needs to be loved. If no one else will do it, I’ll do it.”
Former NFL star Henry Ruggs appeared in court yesterday for his involvement in the fatal car crash Tuesday, which resulted in the burning deaths of 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog, and Ruggs’ release from the Raiders team.
Ruggs, 22, has been accused of driving 156 mph and had a loaded illegal firearm at the time of the crash, which occurred in the central Las Vegas area at around 3am Tuesday morning.
Prosecutors also alleged that Ruggs’ alcohol level was .161, which is more than double the legal limit, and that his blood was drawn within two hours of the incident.
Ruggs was seen in court with a cut nose, and he was wearing a neck brace.
Read our Henry Ruggs live blog for the latest news and updates…
-
MEMES CONDEMNED
With many on social media sharing memes about the tragic car crash involving former NBA star Henry Ruggs, some are condemning the jokes.
-
DEREK CARR WILL BE THERE FOR HENRY RUGGS
Despite the backlash former Raiders player Henry Ruggs is facing after the deadly car crash this week which claimed the lives of a 23-year-old woman and her dog, one of his teammates said he will support him.
-
THE ‘DRIVER WAS STILL ALIVE’ AFTER CRASH
Security guard and bystander who tried to help, Alexander Hart, reported that when he tried to save the victim, Tina Tintor, from the burning car, he heard screams.
He told police she was still alive after her car was reportedly hit by Henry Ruggs.
The report said that Tintor couldn’t be saved because she was pinned in her vehicle, which was soon overcome with smoke and flames.
Tintor’s dog was in the backseat of her car and also burned to death.
-
RAIDERS INTERIM HEAD COACH SPEAKS OUT
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Rich Bisaccia spoke on Wednesday about Henry Ruggs’ fatal DUI car crash.
After reading a statement, the coach answered questions from the media about how he dealt with news of the tragedy.
“I don’t know if I can put into words the emotional feelings I went through.
“I think there’s two separate entities,” Bisaccia said. “there’s Henry Ruggs the football player which is no longer part of the Raiders. And then Henry Ruggs the person who is certainly going through what he’s going through and is going to have to pay the consequences for the actions.”
-
HAS HENRY RUGGS BEEN CHARGED WITH ANYTHING?
The 22-year-old has been charged with two felony counts, DUI, and reckless driving, which could earn him up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
He was booked into the Clark County Jail in Las Vegas.
Ruggs III appeared before a local judge on November 3, 2021. A judge set his bail at $150,000. He will also have to abstain from alcohol and other controlled substances. He was ordered to surrender his passport and he cannot drive.
He is slated to return to court on November 10.
-
VICTIM WAS ‘HEARD SCREAMING’ AFTER CRASH
Tina’s Tintor’s Toyota Rav4 burst into flames after the collision with Ruggs’ car and slid more than 570 feet before coming to a stop just blocks from her home.
A bystander, Alexander Hart, was nearby standing as a security guard at a condominium and rushed to help, according to the police report.
When he arrived, he heard screams coming from the Toyota.
Tina was still alive, he told the police but he couldn’t pull her out, because she was pinned inside the SUV.
The Toyota “was soon overcome with smoke and heat from flames,” and Hart had to back away, according to the report.
-
RAIDERS QUARTERBACK SAYS RUGGS ‘NEEDS TO BE LOVED RIGHT NOW’
Derek Carr told reporters on Wednesday that he would “always be there” for Ruggs.
“That won’t change. I’ll prove that over the course of time to him. Not to anybody else.
“He needs people to love him right now. He’s probably feeling a certain type of way about himself right now. He needs to be loved. If no one else will do it, I’ll do it.”
-
DAVID CARR APOLOGIZES FOR ‘INSENSITIVE TWEET’
The brother of Raiders quarterback Derek Carr apologized for a poorly-timed tweet in which he predicted his brother would win MVP after news of Henry Ruggs’ fatal DUI crash.
“I’ll try this again, my apologies if the last tweet sounded incentive (sic), I just can’t imagine another team having to deal with so much off the field,” Carr tweeted.
“It obviously hits a little too close to home for a brother.”
Both tweets have now been deleted.
-
RUGGS’ GIRLFRIEND SURVIVED THE CRASH
Rudy Washington, with whom Ruggs has a young daughter, suffered “serious” injuries and was rushed to hospital.
The nature of her injuries are currently unclear but police described them as non-life-threatening.
Ruggs, meanwhile, suffered minor injuries and was released from the hospital on Tuesday. Police say he showed “signs of impairment” at the scene.
-
HENRY RUGGS’ DAUGHTER
On May 7, 2020, Ruggs and Rudy Washington welcomed their first daughter, Kenzli Re’Nai.
While baby Kenzli is only one year old, she is already a star on her father’s Instagram page.
He can often been seen sharing family pictures of her and Washington to his 455,000 followers.
Outside of being known as their daughter, not much additional information is available due to her age.
-
TUA TAGOVAILOA ON RUGGS’ DUI CRASH
Henry Ruggs’ former NFL teammate Tua Tagovoiloa spoke about Ruggs’ arrest on Wedesday.
“You’d never think that this guy could hurt a soul,” he said, according to TMZ.
“That’s tough,” Tua added as he seemed to tear up. “My heart goes out to the families affected by what happened, the choices and decisions.
“My heart goes out to Henry, too, and his family. Obviously, it wasn’t the right choice or decision he made at that time. I know he’d wish he could have it back.
“When I heard the news, that was tough for me to hear, just knowing the kind of person that Henry is … I’m still kind of in disbelief.”
-
WAS HENRY RUGGS ARMED DURING THE CRASH?
Officials are also charging Ruggs with illegal possession of a firearm, which was allegedly loaded when discovered by police.
Prosecutors are reportedly considering additional charges related to the firearm.
-
$150K BAIL
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe M. Bonaventure set Ruggs’ bail at $150,000 and his next court appearance is November 10.
The judge also ordered Ruggs to be confined at home, subjected to electronic monitoring, abstain from alcohol and other controlled substances, restricted from driving and forfeit his passport, Fox 8 News reported.
Notably, Bonaventure sent former football great O.J. Simpson to jail back in for violating terms of his pretrial release in the Las Vegas armed robbery case that eventually led to Simpson’s conviction and prison term, according to the Associated Press.
The judge warned Ruggs that if he failed to adhere to his release restrictions he faced re-arrest and would be remanded.
-
VICTIM’S FRIEND CALLS RUGGS ‘SELFISH’
Devante Burnham, a close school friend of Tina’s who attended Durango High School in Vegas with her, exclusively told The Sun: “I spoke to her a month ago. I happened to see her around the Summerlin area and I greeted her.
“Her and I have been friends since we were sophomores in high school. It is heartbreaking. I can’t believe it. She was a wonderful soul.”
Hitting out at Ruggs, he blasted: “To me that kind of behavior is selfish. Because he’s not thinking about anyone’s well-being nor the possible fatal outcome and destruction he could cause.
“It’s selfish and it didn’t need to happen.”
-
THE ‘THREE-FINGER SALUTE’
Ruggs from Alabama is known for “religiously” giving a three-finger salute to his late friend Roderic Scott after every touchdown, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
Scott lost his life in a car accident at the age of 17.
-
‘CAN’T BE FLAGGED DOWN’
Just a few days before the tragic crash, on October 25, Ruggs posted on Instagram an image of himself on the field with the caption “Can’t be flagged down I’m the move”.
People have since returned to the post to leave comments in relation to the incident, with one commenting: “this caption didn’t age well”.
A second user said: “But you got flagged for DUI manslaughter.”
“Helmets to handcuffs”, said another.
-
RUGGS FACING BACKLASH
Many have taken to Twitter to talk about the crash and have claimed that Ruggs career is now over following the DUI charge and possible prison sentence.
-
WHAT HAS HENRY RUGGS SAID ABOUT THE CRASH?
As the investigation continued, his attorneys told TMZ Sports, “On behalf of our client Henry Ruggs III we are conducting our own investigation as of this writing and ask everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are gathered.”
-
$16MILLION CONTRACT
After playing collegiately at Alabama, and winning a national championship in 2017, Henry Ruggs was then drafted into the NFL as the 12th overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft.
He then went on to sign a four year, $16.6million contract which included a $9.6million signing bonus with all of it guaranteed.
In 2021, Ruggs earned a base salary of $1,367,801, with a cap hit of $3,789,006 and a dead cap value of $13,640,421, according to Sportrac.
-
WHO IS HENRY RUGGS’ GIRLFRIEND?
Rudy Washington was born Kiara Jenai Kilgo-Washington in November 1998, according to Fab Wags.
She is an Alabama native who hails from Montgomery.
Outside of being the NFL star’s girlfriend, she is known as a volleyball player who plays for Paine College. Before college, she played for her high school, Park Crossing High.
Rudy is building a social media following and vlogs on YouTube. In some of her recent videos, she and her boyfriend Henry discuss their family life, day-to-day activities and answer questions from followers.
Rudy and Henry have reportedly been dating since high school and have one child together, a daughter named Kenzli.
Kenzli was born May 7, 2020.
-
‘IMPAIRED AT 156 MPH’
The standout wide receiver was allegedly flying on the roadway at around 3:40am on Tuesday, reaching 156 miles per hour and registering a blood alcohol level of .161 – which is twice the legal limit in Nevada, according to Clark County chief deputy district attorney Eric Bauman detailed during Ruggs’ court appearance.
Ruggs refused a sobriety test at the scene, the police stated, before later submitting to a blood test.
-
FACING 20 YEARS IN PRISON
In a preliminary assessment of the incident, Las Vegas police suggested Ruggs “showed signs of impairment” after the crash.
He’s now facing DUI resulting in death, which under Nevada law is a Class B felony and reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, according to USA Today.
If convicted of both, Ruggs could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison for the DUI and up to six years for reckless driving charge.
-
RUGGS HAD BRAGGED ABOUT BEING A ‘SAFE DRIVER’
An older Twitter post of Ruggs’ from almost exactly two years ago has re-surfaced online in the wake of the fatal crash.
The post, dated November 29, 2019, came as part of an exchange between Ruggs and his girlfriend, Rudy Washington.
Uploading a viral video of a car weaving through traffic at a high speed, Washington wrote: “A party night in ttown wit the “gang” [Woozy face] whew chile , I pray every time I get in that Red thang [Face with tears of joy].”
Ruggs responded to the tweet with three crying face emojis, adding: “I am a very safe driver babylove.”
Hundreds of Twitter users have responded to the post with memes and remarks of irony, with one writing: “This did not age well.”
-
RUGGS WAS SEEN PLAYING GOLF HOURS BEFORE CRASH
The Las Vegas football star was recorded by his girlfriend, Rudy Washington, taking swings at the TopGolf course in Las Vegas barely four hours before he is accused of drunkenly ramming his Corvette into 23-year-old Tina Tintor’s SUV.
In the video, Washington is seen sitting at a table with another man while telling Ruggs “you be under pressure when you on camera.”
“That’s what it is,” she said to Ruggs, who did not appear to be intoxicated at the time.
-
WAS HENRY RUGGS DRINKING BEFORE THE CRASH?
Ruggs refused a sobriety test at the scene, police said, but later blood tests were taken at the hospital showing his intoxication levels.
He had a blood-alcohol content twice Nevada’s legal limit before his sports car slammed into the rear of a vehicle, killing Tina, prosecutors said.