LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III yelled at hospital staff and police as they tried to help him and investigate a fatal crash Tuesday morning, records obtained by the I-Team said.
The crash was reported at 3:39 a.m. on Rainbow Boulevard near Spring Valley Parkway and caused the closure of Rainbow between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road for several hours.
Ruggs, 22, refused to submit to an evidentiary blood test, a police report obtained by the I-Team said. A judge later approved a warrant for a blood draw at University Medical Center.
Prosecutors said Ruggs’ blood-alcohol level was 0.161 — two times the legal limit.
Ruggs was traveling 156 mph before the crash that killed Tina Tintor, 23, and her dog, sources told the I-Team on Wednesday.
When police went to speak with Ruggs at UMC, he told them to “get him out of here,” the report said. He also told the investigating officer he did not remember what happened, responding “no” several times.
Ruggs then told police he was going home at the time of the crash.
“When I asked Ruggs to clarify, he just repeated, ‘home, home,’ and then began mumbling,” the officer wrote in the report, noting his speech was slurred and he mumbled. The officer described his speech as “not understandable” and his attitude as “unresponsive.”
Ruggs then tried to tear the IVs out of his arm, police said.
“As medical staff advised Ruggs to stop removing the medical equipment, Ruggs began to yell, ‘Get me the **** out of here,’” the report said. “Ruggs continued to yell from his bed and refused to listen to hospital staff and yelled they were not doing anything for him.”
Police investigating Ruggs for suspected DUI wrote that he would not cooperate.
“As I spoke with Ruggs I asked if he would open his eyes,” the report said. “At that time, Ruggs refused to answer any questions nor cooperate by opening his eyes.”
Ruggs’ girlfriend, Rudy Washington, 22, told police the couple had been at Top Golf earlier in the night and that the pair had been drinking, the report said. She said she did not know how many drinks Ruggs ingested.
Washington told police that right before the crash, Ruggs said, “What is this guy doing?” She said Ruggs then began braking, the car slid and collided with the other vehicle, killing its driver.
Police said Ruggs was traveling at 156 mph right before the crash. His car impacted Tintor’s vehicle at 127 mph, investigators wrote in court documents.
Ruggs, who was released by the Raiders on Tuesday night, is being represented by high-profile attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld. The attorneys released a statement hours after the crash asking “everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are gathered.”
Judge Joe Bonaventure set Ruggs’ bail at $150,000 although the state had requested a $1 million bond. Ruggs was ordered to abstain from alcohol and other controlled substances. He was ordered not to drive and to surrender his passport. Bonaventure said, in his career on the bench, he couldn’t recall seeing a speed that high.
The 22-year-old is facing felony charges of DUI causing death and reckless driving.
