Henry Ruggs: Raiders star screamed at police and medical staff following fatal DUI crash, report says
Tina Tintor, 23, and dog were killed in fiery accident in Nevada
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Former Las Vegas Raiders star Henry Ruggs III reportedly screamed at police and medical staff in hospital following the fiery DUI crash that killed a woman.
Mr Ruggs, 22, was allegedly driving his car at 156mph and was more than twice the Nevada drink driving limit when his Chevrolet Corvette into Tina Tintor’s Toyota RAV4.
A police report into the fatal incident states that Mr Ruggs refused to have an evidentiary blood test, according to KLAS-tv.
But a judge later approved a warrant for a blood draw at University Medical Center, with prosecutors saying that Mr Ruggs’s blood-alcohol level was found to be 0.161.
The police report says that when officers went to speak with him at the hospital, he told them to “get out of here”, and told investigators “no” several times when asked if he remembered what happened.
Officers say that he told them he was heading home when the accident took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
“When I asked Ruggs to clarify, he just repeated, ‘home, home,’ and then began mumbling,” the report states, noting that the former Raiders star was mumbling and his speech was “not understandable.”
Mr Ruggs then tried to pull the IVs out of his arm, the report states.
“As medical staff advised Ruggs to stop removing the medical equipment, Ruggs began to yell, ‘Get me the f*** out of here,’” it states.
“Ruggs continued to yell from his bed and refused to listen to hospital staff and yelled they were not doing anything for him.”
And investigators say that Mr Ruggs, who was released by the Raiders on Tuesday night, refused to cooperate with them.
“As I spoke with Ruggs I asked if he would open his eyes,” the officer wrote in the report.
“At that time, Ruggs refused to answer any questions nor cooperate by opening his eyes.”
The athlete’s girlfriend, Rudy Washington, 22, told officers that the couple had spent the evening at Top Golf in the city and had been drinking.
But she said that she did not know how many drinks her boyfriend had consumed at the popular chain of driving ranges.
Ms Washington told the police that just before the crash, he had said, “What is this guy doing?” before braking and colliding with the victim’s vehicle.
Mr Ruggs faces felony charges of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death and reckless driving that could see him sentenced to up to to 26 years in state prison if convicted.
The judge ordered that he be held on $150,000 bail and that he wear an electronic monitoring device if released.
He will be back in court on 10 November.
The wide receiver was selected 12th overall in the 2020 NFL draft after three years at the University of Alabama, including helping the Crimson Tide win the NCAA championship as a freshman in 2017.