Former Tide WR Henry Ruggs involved in fatal car accident, to be charged with DUI resulting in death

Like Sam Kinison said, “how else are we supposed to get home from the bar, take a bus”. Unfortunately, sadly, very sadly, that’s the attitude of many. We as a society have been way too accepting of drinking (yes, I said drinking, not just drunk) and driving for far too long. So much more can be done to greatly reduce it, but the lobby protecting the industry is very powerful and loaded with $$$$. The laws are weak and enforcement is a joke, by design, until something bad happens like this and then everyone gasps.

 

I think he's going to jail for awhile. Can't see how he gets out of this as Ruggs was driving 156 MPH at 3:30 in the morning and blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, leading to the death of a 23 yr old.

It was a residential street and Ruggs was more than 110 mph over the speed limit. Here are some quotes i found.

Wednesday morning prosecutors detailed new evidence against Ruggs, who was in his second year with the Las Vegas Raiders and a former star wideout at the University of Alabama. Ruggs was charged on Tuesday with DUI resulting in death and reckless driving. The first charge carries a penalty of 2-20 years. The reckless driving is up to six additional.

“I cannot recall a speed that high in my career on the bench,” Judge Joe Bonaventure remarked, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“It is the worst set of circumstances I've ever seen in a DUI case,” said Craig Mordock of Mordock Legal in New Orleans, where he has defended over 500 DUI cases.

If the evidence prosecutors are bringing forward is accurate, there are few, if any, mitigating factors that can help him, Mordock said. At this point, Ruggs can show only remorse and point to a previously clean record that might spare him from a sentence that pushes toward the maximum allowed.

“He has had no previous trouble with the law and I would assume by the time he gets around to sentencing he’ll be able to show a great deal of remorse,” Mordock said. “But in the end I don’t think that saves him.”

Police say Henry Ruggs III was driving 156 mph. This wasn’t an accident. It was an inevitability.

 

Even without the alcohol that sort of recklessness behind the wheel demands prison time. It’s good to hear Nevada has a mandatory 2-10 for the DUI. Hopefully that sticks so that he cannot skate, and I would lean towards the maximum given the egregiousness and the death. He actually took two lives, the woman and her dog.

 

Hoping her neck snapped at impact.

 

Prayers for the victim's family, and for her soul...also for Ruggs' family.

As for Ruggs--dont mean to judge, as i have certainly operated a vehicle under dubious condition...but 100+ mph in a residential area???

That's playing Russian Roulette with 2 fully loaded guns--one aimed at your foot, the other at a nearby crowd. Woulda taken a miracle to not result in disaster.

Just horrible all around.

 

Firstly, Ruggs isn’t a murderer. Did his careless actions result in a death? Yes. But there was no murderous intent behind this. I think he should be punished, but to compare him to Aaron Hernandez is flat out wrong.

 

Respectfully disagree (partially, anyway). Driving 156 MPH through a residential area is as much homicide, as driving a vehicle at a lower speed, into a crowd of ppl.

Now, he may not have targeted a specific victim, and perhaps--presumably--did not intend to take a life--that takes him out of the premeditated 1st degree murder realm (perhaps even out of 'murder') to a lesser species of homicide, but not completely out of the realm of homicide, altoghether. Vehicular homicide is still a species of homicide, even if 'unintentional'--and arguably, even murder, if intent is imputed according to the degree of recklessness/disregard.

Let us alter the facts hypothetically, to illustrate: suppose as he was driving, rather than only taking one life, he ran into a crowd of ppl, and took X+1 life, where X= the number of lives taken by AHern.

Suppose further that one of the X+1 numbered, was your son/daughter/nephew/niece/sister/brother...

Suppose further still that a handful of AHern's "x's" were gang banger dirt bags, who had taken innocent lives as well, and would, if permitted to live, quite likely have taken additional innocent lives (while all of the X+1 were innocent folks).

Would you maintain that AHern's crime(s) were worse than Ruggs'?

NB: Ruggs likely still a much better person all around than Ahern--but focusing just on their respective actions against the results, do you still think there's that much of a difference between what Ruggs did to his vic, vs. what Ahern did to his vic(s)? Do you think Ruggs' vic's family will think "....well, gosh, I mean all he was doing was driving after a few knocks...it's not like he meant to go Ahern on our beloved [insert relation]..."

Not trying to make light of Ahern's crimes mind you...just trying to maintain the severity of Ruggs' action.

But I suppose if one wants to hang their hat on the distinction between 'murder' and 'homicide'...I mean, he'll certainly avoid any talk of death penalty, but I suspect he'll be looking at a helluva a stretch, not some matter of a few months or years.

jmho/fwiw.

 

Did this guy go to college?

 

Such a bad look. I think people forget about the victims when they aren’t the famous party. Same thing happened with the Pounceys when the AH stuff was coming out. Glad Saban and the Raiders made it clear victims first even though they feel bad for what Ruggs has done to his life (which is totally understandable and appropriate).

Such a tragedy for the young woman. Reminds me of the pickup truck caught on video weaving through traffic at over 100 mph and slammed into a car with a woman in it that was stopped in traffic. I remember gasping out loud when I saw the impact and it was confirmed later she died instantly. Drunk driver was at fault and he had multiple DUIs. No excuse for that BS.

Imagine minding your own business and then you’re dead. Life sucks sometimes.

 

Maybe not a full day, but likely overnight in the tank after getting booked. Nobody gets to walk home after a DUI.

 

First, I was at a restaurant about 10-12 years ago when a limo pulled up (we were sitting outside eating) and it was filled with Tampa Bay Buc players, then the 2nd limo came, ditto, including Ike Hilliard. They got one long table and drank quite a bit, mostly wine. The limos stayed in the parking lot and when we were done, they were about done and were passing the bill around. That's how it should be.

Second, I had some experience driving on race tracks (sanctioned sports car racing) back years ago. Going 150+ mph requires one's full faculties, much less going even 90 mph. People think that because their car can go 150 or more that they should give it a try....well I tell people the movie "Rush" says it all. Niki Lauda in the movie is driving a car and is told that he is going too slow, that if he is really an F1 driver he should go faster. To which he replies, Why.

Third, alcohol or no alcohol, at 150 mph, he was covering 220 feet or 73 yards per second. In the blink of an eye one goes from far away from the car in front to crashing into it.

 

I don't think a person's first DUI should cripple someone's life for years to come. Repeat offenders however even a two timer should get the book thrown at them.

First off most people that have any alcoholic drinks at any restaurant or bar can get a DUI the second they start their car. I know the expression buzzed driving is drunk driving but if society is going to allow alcohol to be served at eating establishments then society needs to change the way we do business.

My bike tops out at 186mph. 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds
At top speed it's around a football field per second. The problem with young or inexperienced let alone impaired people driving or riding vehicles with those capabilities is they don't realize that accelerating is the easy part. Understanding and being able to perform braking or avoidance maneuvers is beyond their comprehension without experience and maybe some luck along the way.

Even on an open road wildlife or debris on the road can kill you at those speeds. I cannot fathom doing those speeds in a residential area. I feel for Ruggs in that he didn't intend for it to happen but he showed total recklessness and disregard for life. Unless the family of the deceased requests leniency, anything short of a max penalty would be insulting to the deceased and family.

Edit: I think if people could witness how extreme those speeds are in person in that setting they would have more of a visceral respect for just how absurdly dangerous and without pun or hyperbole intended, murderous his actions were.

 

To be clear, I was talking about post conviction/plea.

 

The victims......23 year old Tina Tintor and her dog, Maxi:

 

Tina Tintor was just miles away from her family home, her dog in the backseat of her Toyota RAV4, when Henry Ruggs’ Corvette came barreling down the road into her vehicle at 156 mph on Tuesday morning, according to recently released police reports obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Ruggs had been out drinking at Topgolf Las Vegas and a friend’s house before the crash, which killed both Tintor, 23, and her dog and resulted in the 22-year-old Ruggs being charged with DUI resulting in death. The Raiders cut him not long after the news was made public.

The impact of the crash sent Tintor’s vehicle more than 570 feet down the road before finally coming to a rest. Ruggs’ Corvette spun out for about 520 feet. The crash drew the attention of bystanders, including Alexander Hart, a security guard at a nearby apartment complex, and the driver of a Dodge Durango, who both tried to help Tintor. According the reports, she was alive when the car settled to a stop, and was screaming from inside the vehicle. But the car caught fire, and she was engulfed by flames and smoke, eventually dying in the SUV as the bystanders were unable to pull her out.