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Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs, on special release on Monday night, spoke at a Hope for Prisoners event in Las Vegas and apologized to the family of a woman he killed in a car crash in 2021.
Ruggs drove his sports car at speeds up to 156 mph in Las Vegas on 2 November 2021, slamming into a vehicle that killed driver Tina Tintor and her dog. Tintor was 23. Blood samples taken after the crash showed that Ruggs had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16% — twice the legal limit in Nevada. The speed limit in the area of the crash was 45 mph. The Raiders cut the wide receiver the day after the crash, in which he suffered minor injuries.
Ruggs was asked at Monday’s event what he would say to Tintor’s family.
“One, I wish I could turn back the hands of time,” he said in a video taken by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I would love for them to meet the real Henry Ruggs and not the one that was escaping from something. I sincerely apologize for not only being a part of that situation, but the fact my face is always in the news, it’s always in the newspaper. So they have to constantly be reminded of the situation, be reminded of me.”
Ruggs, a former first-round draft pick, pleaded guilty in May 2023 to felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. He was sentenced in August 2023 to a three- to 10-year prison sentence. He will be eligible for parole in August 2026, and his former teammate, Josh Jacobs, has said the 26-year-old has hopes of returning to the NFL upon his release.
Tintor’s mother issued a statement when Ruggs was sentenced in 2023.
“We pray that Henry Ruggs is blessed with the opportunity to be able watch his beautiful daughter grow into the amazing woman she can be,” Mirjana Komazec, Tintor’s mother, said in a statement read by a family member in court. “And we pray that this terrible accident inspires positive change in the world. We pray that we all take away the importance of looking out for one another, remembering everyone we meet is another human’s loved one.”
Ruggs also issued an apology at the sentencing, saying: “I sincerely apologize for the pain and suffering.”
