Records: Ruggs yelled at police, hospital staff after crash
Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III is taken out of the courtroom in a wheelchair after making an initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Ruggs is facing charges relating to a fiery vehicle crash early Tuesday in Las Vegas that left a woman dead and Ruggs and his female passenger injured. Photo is taken through a glass window. The team released Ruggs just hours after the crash. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
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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 NewsNation affiliate KLAS said.
The crash was reported at 3:39 a.m. Ruggs, 22, was traveling 156 mph before the crash, police said, and hit Tina Tintor’s car at 127 mph. The crash killed Tintor, 23, and her dog.
Prosecutors said Ruggs’ blood-alcohol level was 0.161 — two times the legal limit.
Ruggs refused to submit to an evidentiary blood test, the police report said. A judge later approved a warrant for a blood draw at University Medical Center.
When police went to speak with Ruggs at the hospital, 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. 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.”
“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 had.
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 the other driver.
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.”