Sports

Former NFL Star Henry Ruggs Hearing: Victim’s Family Speaks in Fatal DUI Crash Sentencing

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Henry Ruggs will spend 3-10 years in prison. It was recently announced that the former Las Vegas Raiders player would accept a plea deal for the deadly fiery crash he was involved in that occurred in November 2021. At the time of the crash, Ruggs was under the influence and driving 156 miles per hour. The crash resulted in the death of Tina Tintor, and her beloved dog, Max. Tintor died after her car burst into flames and she was trapped in the vehicle. Video footage captured audio of what appeared to be Tintor screaming for help. On May 10, Ruggs appeared in court to enter guilty pleas to one felony count of a DUI resulting in death and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter, TMZ reports.ย 

On the day of Ruggs’ hearing, Tintor’s family released a statement to the media, which read, “Today, like every day, we remember Tina and Max, and how they were taken from us that fateful night. No sentence will ever bring Tina and Max back, but we hope that everyone learns from this preventable incident so that no other families suffer like we do. We appreciate the efforts of the district attorney’s office to overcome the issues caused by the initial investigation, and we look forward to putting this behind us so that we can focus on honoring the memories of Tina and Max.”

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Ruggs initially faced more than 50 years behind bars after prosecutors gave him five total charges for the accident. He was driving a Corvette at the time of the crash. Ruggs’ attorneys said the 24-year-old felt the deal was fair.

The district attorney in the case, Steven B. Wolfson, said of the ruling: “This outcome accomplished our three most important goals: (1) convict Henry Ruggs of the strictest charge allowed by Nevada law for drunk driving; (2) send Henry Ruggs to prison; and (3) eliminate his ability to appeal his conviction and prison sentence.”