Disgraced ex-NFL star Henry Rugs has been sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison for a fiery DUI crash that killed a woman and her dog in Las Vegas.
The former Raiders wide receiver was speeding down a road in the city at up to 156mph when he smashed his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray into the back of 23-year-old Tina Tintor’s SUV in November 2021.
Tintor’s vehicle was consumed by flames and she was trapped inside with her golden retriever pet and died from injuries caused by the fire and the crash.
Ruggs’s sentencing came after he pleaded guilty in May to a felony count of DUI resulting in death and a misdemeanour charge of vehicular manslaughter.
Investigators found after the crash that the former athlete’s blood alcohol level was 0.16, twice the legal limit in Nevada. The shocking incident took place after Ruggs and his girlfriend had spent the evening at Top Golf in the city.
Ruggs, who had faced 50 years in prison before reaching a plea agreement, apologised to the family of Tintor at the start of the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, saying there was “no excuse” for his actions.
“To the parents and family of Ms Tintor, I sincerely apologise for the pain and suffering my actions the morning of November 2, 2021, have caused you, your family and those who knew Ms Tina and Max,” he said.
“I let my family, my teammates and those who believed in me down with my actions and hurt so many.”
District Judge Jennifer Schwartz called it “one of the more tragic cases I’ve seen” as she handed down the sentence.
Ruggs, who was a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft and played 19 games in the league, will be eligible for parole following his third year in prison.
The victim’s mother, Mirjana Komazec, paid tribute to her daughter in a statement, saying that she “only saw the beauty and the life in every soul” and that it was “every parent’s worst nightmare” to “have her taken away at the hands of another’s negligence.”
