Ex-Raiders Player Will Admit to Causing Fiery, Fatal Crash

UPDATE May 3, 2023 1:30 AM CDT

Henry Ruggs, the former NFL player who was released by the Las Vegas Raiders shortly after the 2021 fatal crash in which he was involved, told a judge Tuesday he will take a plea deal that is expected to put him behind bars for three to 10 years. Ruggs will plead guilty to driving drunk at speeds up to 156mph, causing the fiery crash that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor, the AP reports. He will also plead guilty to misdemeanor manslaughter. Other charges (including felony reckless driving; a misdemeanor gun charge related to a loaded handgun allegedly found in his car; and a felony DUI charge involving the injuries caused to Ruggs' girlfriend, a passenger in his car) will all be dismissed. Ruggs will remain on house arrest, which he's been on for 18 months, until his sentencing is held.

Nov 5, 2021 3:00 AM CDT

TMZ has obtained video of the moments after the devastating crash involving former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs. In the difficult-to-watch footage, the 22-year-old and his girlfriend can be seen embracing on the ground near the Toyota RAV4 that was engulfed in flames after Ruggs' Corvette hit it from behind at 127mph in a residential neighborhood a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip. His girlfriend can be heard saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," and, later, screaming for help as Ruggs goes in and out of consciousness. See the footage here. More of the latest on the tragedy:

• A desperate scramble: Two witnesses who tried to help victim Tina Tintor, the 23-year-old who died alongside her dog in the RAV4, recount hearing her desperate screams for help as the fire spread. She was pinned, her door was jammed, and they were unable to get her out before the flames overtook the car. "I thought for sure we were going to be able to do something. The fire was so small at the time. It just grew fast. Really fast," one of them tells KTNV. A security guard for a nearby condo complex who heard the crash and rushed over gives the Las Vegas Review-Journal a similar account.

• Close to home: Tintor was mere miles from her home when she was killed. Ruggs told investigators he, too, was heading home at the time; the two have lived about three miles from one another since at least April. Tintor's best friend tells the Sun she and Tintor had been on a late-night walk with Tintor's dog in the hours before the crash.
• Her family speaks: Tintor's 25-year-old brother tells USA Today their parents, who fled war-torn Serbia for the US in 2000, are "destroyed," and that the tragedy "doesn't feel real." In a statement, a lawyer for the family says, "Tina’s tragic loss has devastated her family beyond a grief they could ever comprehend. Family was everything to Tina, and she was the light of her parents’ life."
• Late-night text: Ruggs' former teammate Derek Carr told reporters he heard from Ruggs hours before the crash. "He literally texted me at midnight a golf swing, hit me and Hunter (Renfrow, Raiders wide receiver): ‘How’s my swing look? You guys need to help me.'" Social media accounts appear to show Ruggs and his girlfriend drinking mai tais at Topgolf Las Vegas in the hours before the crash.
• Final seconds: Ruggs' girlfriend told investigators that as he approached the RAV4, he yelled, "What is this guy doing?" while slamming on the brakes.

Ruggs' blood alcohol level was allegedly more than twice Nevada's legal limit for drivers. He's charged with DUI resulting in death and reckless driving. (More Henry Ruggs stories.)