Henry Ruggs, a former wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders, was found guilty of killing a woman in a catastrophic collision while operating his sports vehicle while intoxicated at up to 156 mph on a city street nearly two years ago. Ruggs was sentenced on Wednesday to at least three years in jail in Nevada.
“I have no excuses,” Ruggs said, citing pain the case has caused his family, teammates and Tintor’s family. Ruggs said that after prison, he intends to counsel others “about the dangers of driving at unsafe speed and driving and drinking.”
Tintor’s mother, Mirjana Komazec, offered grief, grace and memories of “what it was like to hug and embrace her, knowing we will never be able to kiss her on her forehead or tell her how much we love her and how absolutely proud of her we are,” she said in a statement read in court by Tintor’s cousin, David Strbac.
“We pray that Henry Ruggs is blessed with the opportunity to be able (to) watch his beautiful daughter grow into the amazing woman she can be,” Komazec’s statement said. “And we pray that this terrible accident inspires positive change in the world. We pray that we all take away the importance of looking out for one another, remembering that everyone we meet is another human’s loved one.”
When Clark County District Court Judge Jennifer Schwartz read the punishment, Kilgo-Washington and a group of friends and supporters watched as Ruggs, sporting a dark suit, white shirt, and blue tie, was handcuffed by a court officer. Then Ruggs was brought outside.
Since the collision, Ruggs has been free and under home arrest. Prior to the sentencing, Ruggs’ attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, submitted letters of support for Ruggs from Montgomery, Alabama high school administrators and teachers, as well as a reference from Democratic Alabama state Rep. Phillip Ensler.
“Mr. Ruggs is a man of good character who made a terrible mistake,” the attorneys said in the presentencing memorandum. “His remorse is deep and sincere.”
Ruggs’ defense team maintained that Ruggs’ blood-alcohol test was inappropriately collected at the hospital, while Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said that Ruggs’ lack of a field-sobriety test after the collision made it difficult for Ruggs to be convicted in a trial.
According to Wolfson, the blood test offered “virtually” the sole evidence that Ruggs was intoxicated at the time of the collision. After the rear-end collision caused a fire to start in Tintor’s Toyota Rav 4, it was discovered that Ruggs had a blood alcohol level of 0.16%, which is double the Nevada legal limit.
Don’t miss out! Get your daily dose of Entertainment news and more straight to your phone. Join Ghana Street Journal Whatsapp channel now!
