Sports Illustrated reports that on Wednesday, former wide receiver for the Raiders, Henry Ruggs III, pleaded guilty to one count of DUI resulting in death and one count of vehicular manslaughter.
The fatal crash happened on November 2, 2021, at approximately 3:39 a.m. when Ruggs merged his Chevrolet Corvette, performed a reckless lane change near the intersection of Rainbow Boulevard and Spring Valley Parkway, and rear-ended a Toyota RAV4 occupied by a 23-year-old woman and her dog.
As a result of the crash, the Toyota caught fire, trapping the young woman and her dog inside. Firefighters and Good Samaritans at the scene were sadly unable to rescue her.
According to the arrest report filed by officers with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, Ruggs refused to perform field sobriety tests. A toxicology report later revealed that Ruggs had a blood-alcohol level of .16 – twice the legal limit of .08 percent.
Ruggs was arrested for felony DUI and taken into custody. A judge set Ruggs’ bail at $150,000. He was out of jail less than 24 hours after the fatal crash. He was released by the Raiders organization the next day.
Surviving family members of the victim were present in the Clark County Courtroom on Wednesday.
A judge has placed Ruggs under house arrest until his official sentencing date on August 9, and he is being monitored for both location and alcohol. Ruggs is expected to serve three to 10 years in Nevada state prison.
