LAS VEGAS — Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was driving at 156 mph with a blood-alcohol content twice Nevada’s legal limit before his sports car slammed into the rear of a vehicle that burned, killing a 23-year-old woman, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The 22-year-old former first-round NFL draft pick remained seated in a wheelchair with a foam brace on his neck and jail guards at his elbows during his initial court appearance Wednesday on pending felony charges of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death and reckless driving.
The extent of his injuries was not disclosed, although Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said outside court that he believed Ruggs suffered a leg injury.
Ruggs’ girlfriend, identified by police as Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, 22, of Las Vegas, was with him in the car and injured in the crash. She underwent surgery Tuesday for a severe arm injury, authorities said.
Tina O. Tintor of Las Vegas died with her dog in a wrecked and burned Toyota Rav4, police and the Clark County coroner said. Records show she lived several blocks from where the crash occurred.
Three men and a woman, whom Wolfson later identified as family members, attended the hearing but declined to speak with reporters.
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe M. Bonaventure said he was troubled by his initial review of the case against Ruggs, adding that in 16 years on the bench he had never heard of a crash involving a vehicle traveling so fast.
Nevertheless, he rejected prosecutor Eric Bauman’s request to set Ruggs’ bail at $1 million and instead set the amount at $150,000 with strict conditions including home confinement, electronic monitoring, no alcohol, no driving and the surrender of his passport.
Ruggs’ attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, had argued that bail is by law meant to ensure their client returns to court, not to punish him.
Court records showed that Ruggs posted the $150,000 bond a short time later. His lawyer said he was released from jail Wednesday evening.
Bonaventure in January 2008 returned former football star O.J. Simpson to jail for violating terms of his pretrial release in the Las Vegas armed robbery case that eventually sent Simpson to prison. The judge warned Ruggs that if he didn’t comply with his release restrictions he faced re-arrest and a return to jail.
Wolfson said outside court that he intends to file a second felony DUI charge against Ruggs related to Kilgo-Washington’s injuries. Bonaventure noted the couple have a 3-year-old daughter together.
The district attorney said he might also file a weapon charge against Ruggs related to possessing a gun while under the influence of alcohol. Police reported finding a loaded gun on the floor of the car after the crash.
Bauman told the judge that air bag computer records showed the Corvette decelerated from 156 mph (251 kph) to 127 mph (204 kph) before it slammed into the Toyota at about 3:40 a.m. Tuesday, rupturing the Toyota’s fuel tank and igniting a fire.
Bauman said Ruggs was uncooperative with police and medical workers, and his blood-alcohol level taken within the required two hours after the crash was 0.16%. Police said previously in a statement that Ruggs “showed signs of impairment.”
The prosecutor told the judge that since 2013, the NFL Players Association has contracted with rideshare services to provide free transportation to members “specifically to prevent tragedies such as this.”
Probation is not an option in Nevada for a conviction on a charge of DUI causing death or DUI causing substantial bodily injury. Both carry a possible sentence of two to 20 years in state prison. Added to a possible one to six years for reckless driving, Bauman told Bonaventure that Ruggs could face up to 46 years behind bars if convicted.
Property records show Ruggs owns a $1.1 million home in a neighborhood not far from where the crash occurred.
Wolfson said investigators learned he spent several hours late Monday at TopGolf, a sports entertainment venue in Las Vegas, and may have been at a friend’s home for several more hours before the crash.
A witness told police that people got out of a Dodge Durango SUV that arrived and parked behind the Corvette at the scene of the crash. Police and prosecutors have not said who was in that vehicle at the time. Wolfson said the investigation was continuing.
