A Chevrolet Corvette belonging to Henry Ruggs III is shown on a flatbed truck at the scene of a fatal crash on Rainbow Boulevard between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. Ruggs, a wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders, will be charged with DUI resulting in death.
Published Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021 | 12:42 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021 | 2:06 p.m.
Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III makes 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.
A woman frantically called 911 to report a deadly crash involving ex-Raiders player Henry Ruggs III last week, as another caller described hearing “a lady screaming for help,” according to recordings Metro Police released today.
“Oh my god, they can’t get no one to help,” the woman caller said as an SUV burned, trapping the driver inside. “The whole thing is on fire. … All I see is flames. And it’s almost all gone. And someone is in there.”
Prosecutors allege Ruggs, 22, was driving a Chevrolet Corvette 156 mph before he rear-ended an SUV at about 3:40 a.m. on Nov. 2. The SUV caught fire, trapping the driver, Tina Tintor, inside, authorities said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
“There’s a lady screaming for help in a Lamborghini, she’s trapped,” said Michael Leone, who called Metro dispatch saying he could see the crash from his home. “And there’s a vehicle on fire. ... It doesn’t look like anyone is in that vehicle.”
Leone reported loud “popping” sounds coming from the SUV, later identified as Tintor’s 2013 Toyota Rav4.
He also heard loud revving of a motor prior to the crash and described people rushing to the scene to help.
“Someone’s got like a little fire extinguisher trying to put out the fire,” Leone said. “I thought I heard a dog yelping, but I wasn’t sure if maybe that was my dog. It looks like one person pulled from the Lamborghini is unconscious.”
Recordings of Metro and Clark County Fire Department radio calls show dispatchers and first responders trying to sort out conflicting information, including how many people were killed.
The recordings, provided to the Sun by Clark County officials through a public records request, illustrate the fast-evolving nature of the emergency calls.
Requests for body-worn camera footage from Metro officers on the scene were denied based on the ongoing investigation.
Moments after an initial radio call, a Metro dispatcher said a person was pulled from Ruggs’ vehicle, but it was “unknown if the subject is conscious that was pulled from the car.”
Another Metro dispatcher then said, “The vehicle that’s on fire, my person believes there might be somebody inside the vehicle.”
A subsequent call from the fire department also notes that “there might be someone still inside the vehicle that’s on fire.”
Seconds later, a firefighter on the scene said, “We do have one vehicle on fire, fully involved. Another vehicle is also involved in the accident, and is not on fire. Looks like we have two people sitting on the sidewalk.”
A second ambulance was then dispatched to the scene.
“They have two fatalities, Rainbow Boulevard and Spring Valley Parkway,” a fire department dispatcher said. “It’s a traffic accident. One vehicle caught fire.”
“Two 419s and one vehicle,” the dispatcher said, using police code for a fatality.
“Is it the vehicle that caught fire?” a first responder asked.
“Let me see if it was the fire vehicle, or if it was the other vehicle. … They were both in the fire vehicle,” the dispatcher said.
The only other fatality in the crash was Tintor’s golden retriever dog.
Ruggs was formally charged today in Las Vegas Justice Court with two counts of DUI resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, two counts of reckless driving and one count of possession of a firearm while under the influence.
If convicted, Ruggs could face up to 52 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Ruggs initially was arrested on one count of DUI and one count of reckless driving, but prosecutors sought the additional charges based on injuries suffered by his girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, 22, who was riding with him.
Ruggs had a blood-alcohol content of .161%, twice the legal limit to drive in Nevada, and also had a loaded handgun in the car, prosecutors said.
Ruggs was released on $150,000 bond last week on the condition he wear an ankle monitor and does not drive or consume alcohol. He was cut from the Raiders after his arrest.
