According to a recent article appearing on the Orange County Register website, former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was driving his Chevrolet Corvette at 156 miles per hour with a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent before a fatal crash on Tuesday, November 2.
The Las Vegas Metro Police Department said in a statement that at approximately 3:40 a.m. Ruggs was speeding through a busy thoroughfare in a residential neighborhood before rear-ending a Toyota Rav4 driven by a 22-year-old Las Vegas woman.
Moments after the crash, the Toyota caught fire. The vehicle was completely engulfed in flames by the tie that Las Vegas firefighters arrived at the scene. The victim, along with her dog, was declared dead at the scene.
Ruggs and passenger Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington were transported to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Ruggs was immediately booked into the Las Vegas jail after his release from the hospital. The Raiders released Ruggs from the team just a few hours after the crash.
Clark County prosecutor Eric Bauman said that the airbag computer in the Corvette showed a rapid deceleration from 156 miles per hour to 126 miles per hour just moments before rear-ending the Toyota.
Judge Joe M. Bonaventure remarked he could not recall a speed that high involved in any other case he had ever seen. Despite the prosecution asking for a $1 million bond to be set, Judge Bonaventure set Ruggs’ bail at $150,000 along with strict conditions that included home confinement, electronic monitoring, no alcohol, no driving, and that Ruggs surrender his passport.
The Clark County District Attorney’s office has not yet formally filed charges against Ruggs, so a plea has not yet been entered.
Judge Bonaventure has set Rugg’s next court appearance for November 10.
