Published Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 | 4:31 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 | 6:32 p.m.
Former Raiders player Henry Ruggs III, who is facing DUI and reckless driving counts in a fatal crash this week, received a citation in April for using a cell phone while driving, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records.
The Nevada Highway Patrol issued Ruggs the citation about 10:15 p.m. April 29 on the 215 Beltway at Decatur Boulevard, according to the citation.
The ticket notes Ruggs was seen on a “cellular device at steering wheel level while operating a motor vehicle at highway speeds.”
The Montgomery, Ala., native was also issued a citation for being a Nevada resident but driving with an Alabama driver’s license.
Ruggs was driving a 2021 Ford Mustang SE, different from the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette he was driving when he was involved in a crash Tuesday that killed Tina Tintor, 23, of Las Vegas.
The owner of the Mustang was listed as a Las Vegas car dealership. A court date was set for July 28, but it was not clear how the ticket was resolved.
In this week’s crash, prosecutors allege Ruggs was driving about 156 mph before rear-ending a Toyota Rav4 SUV about 3:40 a.m. Tuesday near Rainbow Boulevard and Spring Valley Parkway.
The SUV caught fire with Trintor trapped inside, prosecutors said. She was declared dead at the scene.
At a court hearing Wednesday, prosecutors said Ruggs, 22, had a blood-alcohol content of .161%, twice the legal limit to drive in Nevada.
Farhan R. Naqvi, an attorney for the Tintor family, issued a statement today saying Tintor’s death has “devastated her family beyond a grief they could ever comprehend.”
“Family was everything to Tina, and she was the light of her parents’ life. Tina lived in Las Vegas since she was a baby. She loved her 3-year-old golden retriever, Max, who passed alongside her Tuesday morning,” the statement said.
Travis Winston, store director of the Target location where Tintor worked, said co-workers are "deeply saddened" by her death.
"We extend our sympathies to her family and friends, and to all those impacted by this tragedy," he said in a statement. "We’ve provided Tina's former colleagues at our Las Vegas store with support, including access to onsite counselors."
Bojana Filipovic, a longtime friend, said she was with Tintor shortly before the crash. Tintor dropped Filipovic off at her home early Tuesday after walking Tintor’s dog and talking about going to Serbia, Filopovic told Fox5 KVVU-TV.
Both 23 years old and immigrants from the Balkan country, they became friends as neighbors in Las Vegas when they were 5.
“She was just about to get her citizenship and everything was going swell,” Filipovic said. “She’d give you a shoulder to lean on, and she’ll always slap sense into you if you do something wrong. I wish I got to say goodbye, and I’ll see you in the next life.”
Filipovic said Tintor graduated from Durango High School and hoped to go into the computer science programming field.
Goran Glavas, president of St. Simeon Serbian Orthodox Church in Las Vegas, released a statement calling Tintor “always polite and respectful just like rest of her relatives and friends." He said the Serbian community in Las Vegas was “extremely saddened by this terrible accident.”
Filopovic said Tintor’s mother called her Tuesday morning, crying and asking if she knew where Tintor was.
“She was supposed to wake up at 7 a.m. to run errands, but she never got home with her dog," Filipovic said.
Ruggs, who was injured in the crash with his 22-year-old girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, was jailed on $150,000 bond. He was later freed on house arrest and electronic monitoring pending his next court date Nov. 10.
The Raiders cut him from the team late Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.